Celebrating Outstanding Voluntary Service

2016 Volunteer Awards

The Museum hosted its annual Volunteer Appreciation Night and Awards Ceremony on June 21, 2016. Many volunteers received awards marking a milestone in the number of hours or years they have served. Two individuals, Peter and Donna Pesch, were honored with the Kent Hale Smith Award for Outstanding Voluntary Service this year. Since 1976, the Kent Hale Smith Award is given to a volunteer who has donated at least three years of service, and made significant contributions to the material and/or scientific advancement of the Museum.

The Pesch's began their volunteer legacy with the Museum in 2007 in the departments of Ornithology and Wildlife Resources. Together, they invested hundreds of hours and six years digitizing more than 30,000 bird specimens in the Museum's Ornithology collection. Amazingly, when that project was complete, they extended the same service to the Museum's vast Vertebrate Zoology collections.

Together these volunteers have contributed 3,583 hours to the Museum. They are described by their nominators, Director of Wildlife Resources Harvey Webster and Director of Science Dr. Andy Jones, as “exemplary volunteers, outstanding ambassadors, and great friends to the Museum who are compelled to continually further their understanding of the natural world.” We thank Peter and Donna for their tremendous dedication and inspiring curiosity for the natural world.
Numerous volunteers also received milestone awards, commemorating their total number of hours or years of service to the Museum. The complete list of winners and a photo gallery from the night are below.

2,500 Volunteer Hours of Service

1,000 Volunteer Hours of Service

500 Volunteer Hours of Service

150 Volunteer Hours of Service

Reached 30 Years of Service

Reached 25 Years of Service

Reached 20 Years of Service

Reached 15 Years of Service

Reached 10 Years of Service

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