For Release: Immediate
Contact: Tessy Shirakawa
Phone: 970-529-4628

Mesa Verde Volunteers Win George B. Hartzog, Jr. Awards

“When a VIP agrees to share his talents, skills and interests with the National Park Service, he is paying us one of the highest compliments possible by offering a most valued possession – his time.” George B. Hartzog, Jr., November 17, 1970

Mesa Verde National Park ’s Volunteers-In-Parks (VIP) program has won two coveted awards from the National Park Service. The park received the national George B. Hartzog, Jr. Outstanding Park VIP Program Award for 2006. Cheryl and Chuck Carson of Durango, the park’s volunteer coordinators (and volunteers themselves) have received the George B. Hartzog, Jr. Oustanding Volunteer Service Award for the Intermountain Region of the National Park Service, encompassing 11 states and 93 parks and monuments.

George B. Hartzog, Jr. was Director of the National Park Service from 1964-1973. During that time, he pushed through legislation creating the Volunteers-In-Parks (VIP) Program. The George Hartzog Volunteer Awards recognize outstanding contributions to the National Park Service by an individual, an organized group, and an exceptional park VIP program.

In 2006, 84 Centennial volunteers contributed a total of 15,124 hours to the park and its yearlong Centennial Celebration, an increase of 18% over 2005. These volunteers performed a number of impressive tasks including: provided trip-planning tips at the Far View Visitor Center during the summer season; organized luminarias at the park’s Annual Open House/Centennial Finale; improved the park landscape through planting, weeding, and rehabilitating park benches; developed educational materials for school programs; and conducted oral history interviews with past and present park personnel.

Chuck and Cheryl Carson, the park’s centennial volunteer coordinators, have served in that capacity as volunteers at Mesa Verde since 2004. Chuck, with a PhD from Purdue University in Operations Research, spent his career at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque . Cheryl's career included teaching and counseling in the Albuquerque Public Schools before earning her PhD from UNM in Psychology and working in private practice. Since retiring to Durango in early 2000, the Carsons have worked together in a number of activities, including volunteering in NYC with the National Red Cross after 9-11, teaching downhill skiing at Durango Mountain Resort, organizing the Mesa Verde Centennial, and enjoying the challenge of spoiling their four grandchildren.

If you are interested in the incredible experience of volunteering at Mesa Verde National Park , please contact Chuck and Cheryl Carson at 970-259-2699 or cccarson@aol.com.

The National Park Foundation will host a luncheon in Washington , D.C. on May 3 rd to honor the winners of these prestigious VIP awards.

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