The Museums of Western Colorado celebrated the annual Heritage Awards Tuesday, March 1st at Dinosaur Journey. These awards are an opportunity for the Museum to thank organizations and members of the community that have contributed to the understanding and preservation of Mesa County and Western Slope heritage. Some of the honorees have contributed directly to the Museum ability to fulfill its mission of discovering, preserving, and sharing Mesa County history; others are honored for their outstanding work on their own or for other organizations. This year’s awards and winners are listed below.
• Historian Award: Recognizes contributions to the public understanding and appreciation of Mesa County and Western Slope history. This year’s honoree was Robert Silbernagel.
• George Callison Paleontological Award: recognizes contributions to the public understanding and appreciation of Mesa County and Western Slope paleontological heritage. This year we honored Dr. Martin Lockley.
• Heritage Enterprise Award: recognizes a business enterprise that has contributed to the preservation of Mesa County’s heritage. We were happy to recognize Family Health West.
• Museum Service Award: recognizes the efforts of an individual, group, or organization in support of the MWC’s mission and vision. We had two awardees this year: Emma McCreanor of the Mesa County Historical Society and Anamae Richmond, a long time Cross Orchards Historic Site volunteer.
• Preservation Award: recognizes efforts toward the preservation of Mesa County’s architectural treasures. This year we were happy to award Chamberlin Architects.
• Archaeology Award: recognizes contributions to the public understanding and appreciation of Mesa County and Western Slope Archaeology. This year’s honoree was John Lindstrom.
• We also introduced a new award this year: the Director’s Choice Award honors individuals who have, over a lifetime, demonstrated meritorious service and dedication to the Museum and its mission. This year, we wished to honor Herb Bacon.
The Heritage Awards also gave us the opportunity to officially premier the new video, Dinosaurs of the Grand Valley. The film was created by Gen9 Productions, made possible by a generous donation from Charles Safris, and features a number of paleontologists who work in the region. Dinosaur Journey can now provide visitors with a regionally specific introduction to the paleontology of the Grand Valley.
Thanks to the continued support and interest of community members, businesses, donors, volunteers, and others the heritage of the Grand Valley is being discovered, preserved and shared in new ways, by new voices. The Museums of Western Colorado are very excited to be able to participate in and honor this work.
Left to right: John Lindstrom, Emma McCreanor, Dr. Martin Lockley, Anamae Richmond, Lori Randall of Family Health West, Bob Silbernagel, Ed Chamberlin and Werner Duecker of Chamberlin Architects