3 Grant County-based volunteers receive OPRD award

By Logan Bagett on Thursday, April 21st, 2022 in Eastern/Southeast Oregon News More Top Stories

GRANT COUNTY – According to a release from the Oregon Parks and Recreation District, the most recent Oregon Heritage Excellence Awards have been announced. This year there is a new award category for standout heritage volunteers and recognizing their critical contributions to heritage preservation efforts in Oregon, and get this—there were 18 total standout volunteers statewide, and 3 of them volunteer with organizations in Grant County! Congratulations to Bruce Carey, with Friends of Kam Wah Chung & Co; Doug Reynolds with the USFS Malheur National Forest Passport in Time program; and Carla Wright with the Prairie City Historic Cemetery District. Find the full press release from the OPDR below:

(Press Release from the Oregon Parks and Recreation District)

Individuals, organizations, and projects that have made outstanding contributions to preserving Oregon’s heritage will receive Oregon Heritage Excellence Awards.

Awards recognize action taken to preserve and share Oregon’s heritage over and above the call of duty. “This year’s award recipients represent projects that serve as inspiration and models for preserving Oregon’s stories, especially the lesser told and untold stories,” said Katie Henry, coordinator for the Oregon Heritage Commission. “These projects offer unique opportunities to engage with and learn about Oregon’s diverse heritage and help expand current interpretation.”

The recipients are:

Jefferson Public Radio’s Jefferson Exchange Underground History Program, Ashland. A monthly radio segment that spotlights little-known aspects of Oregon’s history through the lens of archeology.
Capitol History Gateway Project, Salem. A multi-year project that resulted in exhibits, events, tours, and a digital welcome center at the Oregon State Capitol building.
It Did Happen Here Podcast, Portland. The It Did Happen Here Podcast honors the memory of Mulugeta Seraw and records the movement that disrupted White Nationalist organizing in Oregon in the late 1980s and 1990s.

This year there is a new award category for standout heritage volunteers and recognizing their critical contributions to heritage preservation efforts in Oregon. The 2022 Standout Heritage Volunteers are:

Robert Zimmerling, Lewis and Clark National Historic Park
MaryPat “Patti” Ball, Jefferson Historical Society and Museum
Kristine Deacon, Oregon State Archives
Willie B. Richardson, Oregon Black Pioneers
Robert Butler, Malheur Country Historical Society
Larry Landis, Benton County Historic Resources Commission
Cory Mesloh Hamann, Big Butte Historical Society
Barbara Trout, Tillamook County Pioneer Museum and Kilchis Point Reserve
Bruce Carey, Friends of Kam Wah Chung & Co Museum, Oregon State Parks
Carol Knapp, SOULA: Eagle Brewery Project
Oregon Post Commander David Solomon, American Legion Post 19, Albany
Doug Reynolds, USFS Malheur National Forest Passport in Time program
Eric Williams, Astoria Public Library
Gayle Lewis, Oregon Chinese Diaspora Project (OCDP)
Oregon State Capitol Volunteer Team, Oregon State Capitol and Capitol History Gateway
Steve Hussey, Archaeological Society of Central Oregon
William “Bill” Sparks III, Grand Lodge of Oregon Cemetery Committee
Carla Wright, Prairie City Historic Cemetery District

Award winners will be honored at a virtual event on April 28, 5pm-6pm. This event is open to the public and is part of the 2022 Virtual Oregon Heritage conference. You can register for the awards event here. During the Awards event, videos of the award winning projects will be debuted and award winners will be able to do a live, virtual acceptance of the award. The videos can be accessed at www.oregonheritage.org following the event on April 28, 5pm-6pm.

The Oregon Heritage Excellence Awards are a program of Oregon Heritage, part of the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department.

For more information, contact Katie Henry at 503-877-8834 or katie.henry@oprd.oregon.gov.