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| Bonner Cutting and Richard Joyrich, MD at SOF 2025 conference in New Haven, CT |
by Linda Theil
The Shakespeare Oxford Fellowship awarded Oberon co-founder and chairman Richard Joyrich, MD the 2025 Tom Regnier Veritas Award at their annual conference on September 20, 2025 in New Haven, Connecticut. SOF Vice-president Bonner Miller Cutting presented the award citing Joyrich's decades of service to the Oxfordian mission, his lifelong devotion to, and encyclopedic knowledge of the works of William Shakespeare, and his enormous contribution to the SOF as board member, past-president, conference committee stalwart, and conference tech support. "There would be no conference without Richard and his computer," Cutting said.
Oberon members Joy and Tom Townsend were able to congratulate Joyrich in person, as they had traveled from their home in Seattle to attend the New Haven conference.
"I sat next to Richard during most of the conference," Joy Townsend said. "I had no idea who was to receive this coveted award. Richard was totally stunned and caught off guard -- took him several moments just to standup and to very slowly approach the podium. He seemed quite humbled by the attention and fanfare of the moment. Tom and I were very proud of him and happy that he was acknowledged with such a high honor. We always are so happy to see him and just wish more of the Oberon group could have been present."
Joyrich told Oberon, "I would like to thank the SOF board for honoring me with the 2025 Tom Regnier Veritas Award. This year marks the twentieth consecutive year that I have been involved in the planning and production of the annual conference and I have enjoyed the experience very much. Receiving this award has only made everything even more fulfilling."
Bonner Cutting's Veritas Award presentation:
"The Tom Regnier Veritas Award was developed in response to the untimely loss of one of our own on April 14, 2020. Tom Regnier was an actor, an attorney and a prominent champion of the Oxfordian movement. He not only worked tirelessly behind the scenes to promote our mission, he used his theatrical training and lawyer's wit to present our case on the stage in the unforgiving glare of public limelight. To honor Tom's unique contributions to the Shakespeare Oxford Fellowship, this award is presented to Oxfordians who have made a lasting impact in the history of the authorship question through their extensive endeavors, dogged scholarship, and overall tenacity.
"Our Veritas Award recipients truly represent the best of 'the mark and glass, copy and book' continuing the tradition inspired by Tom Regnier. Today, we have chosen another recipient who is so very worthy of this special award.
"Today's recipient has been a member of the organization (initially the Shakespeare Oxford Society/SOS) since the 1990s. We understand that he has attended every conference since that time. He served as president of the SOS until just before the time of the merger of the two authorship organizations [SOS and Shakespeare Fellowship] in 2014. Working with the tech support personnel at the conferences, he is always available to help the speakers, and uses his own computer to get everyone set up for their presentations.
"Richard Joyrich was instrumental in establishing the Oberon Shakespeare Study Group, a Michigan SOS affiliate in 1997. When it began, Barbara Burris was president, Joyrich was vice-president, and Tom Townsend was the treasurer. At the beginning of the pandemic, when groups were closing down meetings, Richard wanted to keep the Oberon meetings going and started using Zoom virtual meeting technology. Under his leadership the Oberon membership has continued to grow and is now reaching 50 members nationwide. Richard Joyrich practices medicine in the Detroit area where he is a specialist in radiology. It is my honor and privilege to present the Tom Regnier Veritas Award to Dr. Richard Joyrich!"
The Veritas medal will make a magnificent addition to Joyrich's collection of Shakespearean material, and will be a lifelong reminder of the esteem of his friends and colleagues.