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<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">2020 Oregon Heritage Excellence Awards announced<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">Oregon Heritage would like to announce the 2020 Oregon Heritage Excellence Awards winners. Award winners include individuals, organizations, and projects that have made
outstanding contributions to preserving Oregon heritage. In this uncertain time, it is now more important than ever to celebrate and affirm the value of heritage work accomplished in Oregon. This year we received the most nominations than any other year, a
tribute to the great work being done and how important it is.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">Awards recognize action over and above the call of duty. “The award recipients represent the extraordinary efforts to preserve Oregon’s heritage,” said Beth Dehn, coordinator
for the Oregon Heritage Commission. “They also serve as models for others on how to develop new ideas, approaches, and innovations.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">The recipients are:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">--<b> Astoria YMCA Restoration Project</b>, for excellence in façade restoration of a nearly abandoned building and honoring the building’s civic roots in reuse. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><b><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">-- Black Butte Cupola Restoration Project,</span></b><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"> for a collaborative historic preservation effort between Friends
of the Metolius and Deschutes National Forest to restore and preserve the 1922 look-out structure.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><b><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">-- Brookside Pioneer Cemetery,*</span></b><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"> for creating a cemetery preservation plan, documenting conditions, and repairing
over 121 headstones to their original upright positions.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">--<b> Janice Dilg,</b> scholar, public historian, and history builder who uncovers diverse voices of resistance, particularly related to Oregon’s women’s history.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">--<b> David Ellis,</b> for a distinguished 50-year career preserving Oregon’s archaeological, ethnohistoric, and historic resources and encouraging Tribal participation
in cultural resources management.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><b><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">-- Eileen Fitzsimons,
</span></b><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">for dedicated statewide work on heritage projects preserving Oregon’s history, including devotion to historic trails, the Oregon Quilt Project, and local history.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">--<b> Oregon Chinese Diaspora Project,</b> a grassroots Federal/State/Local partnership in public archaeology helping to rewrite the role of the Chinese diaspora and
Chinese Oregonians in the history of the state.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">--<b> Don Peting,</b> founder of PNW Field School and central figure at UO Historic Preservation Program for 40 years who has created a ripple effect through those he
has taught.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><b><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">-- Racing for Change-</span></b><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">
<b>The Eugene Story</b>, a partnership between Oregon Black Pioneers and the Museum of Natural and Cultural History that prioritized community outreach and input to tell a local story about race relations in Eugene. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><b><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">-- Phyllis Zegers,</span></b><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"> a dedicated volunteer who has researched over 3,360 unclaimed cremated remains in the
custody of the Oregon State Hospital and assisted in reuniting approximately 573 urns with family members.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><i><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">*Sally Donovan Award for Historic Cemetery Preservation<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">The Oregon Heritage Excellence Awards are a project of Oregon Heritage, part of the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. This year’s awards were planned to be presented
in conjunction with the Oregon Heritage Conference on April 24, 2020. The event has been canceled in response to COVID-19 health and safety guidelines. Oregon Heritage is committed to honoring the hard work and accomplishments of the award winners and will
announce an award event once it is confirmed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">For more information, contact Beth Dehn at 503-986-0696 or
<a href="mailto:Beth.%20Dehn@oregon.gov">Beth. Dehn@oregon.gov</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Gill Sans MT",sans-serif;color:#595959">Kuri Gill<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Gill Sans MT",sans-serif;color:#595959">Grants & Outreach Coordinator<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Gill Sans MT",sans-serif;color:#595959">Oregon Heritage, Oregon Parks and Recreation Department<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Gill Sans MT Condensed",sans-serif;color:#595959">(503) 986-0685<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Gill Sans MT Condensed",sans-serif;color:#595959">725 Summer St NE, Ste C - Salem, OR 97301<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Gill Sans MT",sans-serif;color:#1F497D"><a href="http://www.oregonheritage.org/"><span style="color:blue">www.oregonheritage.org</span></a>
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Gill Sans MT",sans-serif;color:#1F497D"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/OregonHeritage"><span style="color:blue">www.facebook.com/OregonHeritage</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Gill Sans MT",sans-serif;color:#1F497D"><a href="https://oregonheritage.wordpress.com/"><span style="color:blue">Oregon Heritage Exchange Blog</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Gill Sans MT",sans-serif;color:#1F497D"><a href="http://listsmart.osl.state.or.us/mailman/listinfo/Heritage"><span style="color:blue">weekly Heritage News Listserv</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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