Initiated into the Zeta Psi Chapter at East Carolina University, John Brian Heath was elected as the ninth collegiate province representative of Province 20 on January 20, 1992 - Martin Luther King Day - in historic Person Hall on the University of North Carolina campus in Chapel Hill. His term, begun when he was an undergraduate at East Carolina during the memorable presidency of Robert Luke Hause, and concluding while a graduate student at Appalachian State's Hayes School of Music, would see the establishment of many province traditions that have become mainstays of the Sinfonian experience in North Carolina.

Those two years would also see the expansion of leadership opportunities for collegiate members through the re-establishment of the province council and the new position of assistant collegiate province representative. Following graduation, he was part of a national conversation to reinvigorate the role of the alumnus in the life of the Fraternity. Two years before beginning graduate school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he was appointed as one of the first two province alumni coordinators in the country. Since then, this position has expanded to provinces nationwide. After leaving this role, he served on national committees and task forces for music outreach and leadership development, and in 2009, was appointed by National President John Mongiovi as as chair of the Fraternity's Music Advocacy Committee. In a more informal way, Dr. Heath has continued to mentor new province leaders as they have stepped up to make their own contributions to Sinfonia in North Carolina and beyond.

Dr. Heath's period of service as collegiate province representative was marked by a renewed enthusiasm for province interaction, increased attendance at province events, a pride in the province's past, a celebration of its diversity, and a belief that every Sinfonian must be engaged in ensuring that the province reach its fullest potential. The John Brian Heath Province Leadership Award is given annually at the Province 20 Workshop to the Sinfonian who strives to continue this vision and demonstrates a selfless commitment to excellence in leadership and service to Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia in North Carolina.

Past Recipients

2010
Robert Luke Hause III (Epsilon, 1955)
Robert Holquist

2009
Brian Smith (Pi Rho 2002)

2008
Karl Dean Shatley, II (Rho Tau, 1993)

2007
Ryan Travis Ripperton (Alpha Rho, 1995)

2006
Michael Knight (Omicron Epsilon, 2002)

2005
O'Nicholas Lindsey (Pi Rho, 2000)

2004
Richard Sigler (Iota Epsilon, 1993)

2003
Patrick Shawn Clancy (Rho Tau, 1995)

2002
Patrick McGraw (Omicron Epsilon, 1995)

2001
John Brian Heath (Zeta Psi)

1994
James G. Daugherty (Rho Tau, 1990)
Marshall Johnson (Iota Epsilon, 1992)

When the award was given out in 1994, it was simply called the Province Leadership Award. It was not given out again until 2001, when it was renamed for former CPR John Brian Heath.