2011 Volunteer Recognition

Take Pride in America®
National Award 2011:
Outstanding Public – Private
Partnership Category 

       The Summer Youth Intern Program and Mesa Prieta Petroglyph Project (MPPP), in partnership with the Taos Bureau of Land Management, received a Take Pride in America® award at the White House in Washington, D.C. on Monday, July 18th, 2011.
        Take Pride in America®, is a nationwide partnership program authorized by Congress to promote the appreciation and stewardship of our nation’s public lands. The Take Pride in America® program is administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior for the benefit of all public lands at all levels of government nationwide.        

Summer Youth Interns and Adult Volunteers meet with Senator Tom Udall in Washington. Left to right, back row: Kelsey Medina (intern), Damian Turner (adult volunteer), Autumn Fattón (intern), Judy Williams, Paula Breaux (adult volunteer), Senator Tom Udall, Kelsey Medina (intern), Paul Williams (BLM Archaeologist), Connor White (intern). Front: Katherine Wells (MPPP Chair), Janet MacKenzie (MPPP Project Coordinator) and Aamon Torrez (Intern)

       In addition to promoting public lands stewardship, Take Pride in America® recognizes and honors outstanding volunteers through its annual national awards ceremony. Individuals, groups, organizations, programs and federal land managers are honored for their contributions to our public lands and for their efforts in utilizing volunteers in creative and innovative ways.
        The award is for the MPPP and BLM Summer Youth Intern Program which is held annually for two weeks on Mesa Prieta. The 2011 event in June was the program’s tenth anniversary. The concept for the Youth Program originated with Katherine Wells, Project Founder and MPPP Chair. Previous Project Coordinators Suzie Frazier and Beth Ann Sánchez were important to the project’s early development. MPPP is a 501 (c) (3) organization.
        In July, five interns, Aileen Cruz (Ohkay Owingeh), Kelsey Medina (Ohkay Owingeh), Connor White (Nambé Pueblo and Fairview, OK), Autumn Fattón (Truchas), and Aamon Torrez (Fairview, NM) traveled with adult volunteers to Washington to receive the Take Pride in America® award. They also had the opportunity to visit several important national sites during their five-day stay.

National Public Lands Day Volunteer of the Year Recipient
Dr. Richard Ford

     The Volunteer of the Year Awards recognize five National Public Lands Day (NPLD) volunteers who showed exceptional dedication to service on NPLD and throughout  2011. These volunteers displayed an ethic of land stewardship and inspired those around them to be better volunteers themselves.  NPLD is sponsored by the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF).

MPPP Volunteer Recognition Awards for 2011

Paul Williams was presented with “The Big Bear” award in appreciation for all he has done for the Summer Youth Intern Program and MPPP.

       Paul Williams was born and raised in CO, went to the University of the South in Sewaunee, TN and the University of CO to study anthropology and work at Mesa Verde National Park.  In 1985 he received an MS in anthropology from Northern Arizona University. Then he worked everywhere - Colorado, Arizona, Utah, Montana - in museums, National Forests and colleges. 
        In 1984 he came to Taos as the first archaeologist in the BLM office.  In addition to his job, he became involved with local archaeological projects such as the Taos Archaeological Society and MPPP.
        Important efforts in his career include management of archaeological sites in the Ojo Caliente area and work to get the Galisteo Basin Archaeological Sites Protection Act passed by Congress.

     Pablo, as he is affectionately known by his friends and colleagues, is a great hero to the MPPP for his 10 years of partnership with our Summer Youth Intern Program (SYIP).  Without his leadership and 10 days of working in the field with teenagers in the SYIP program every year, the BLM Suburban he brings to help haul kids around the mesa, and the funding help he procures from the BLM to support the program, it would never have succeeded the way it has. 
        With Paul’s help we’ve managed to have a SYIP program every summer for 10 years.  Again, thanks to Paul, in 2011 the MPPP in partnership with the BLM won a national Take Pride in America® Award.  And again, thanks to Paul and the BLM we were able to take five youngsters from the program to Washington DC to receive the award. “Pablo the Bear” is the biggest and one of the very most important allies the MPPP has ever had.  We thank him for all that he has done for us.

Carmen Acosta Johnson 
MPPP 2011
Volunteer of the Year

        Carmen Johnson may be contained in a small package but she has huge energy, enthusiasm and devotion to the Mesa Prieta Petroglyph Project.  Physical fitness is a way of life with Carmen – she is a 90-pound powerhouse who could topple her good friend, Pablo Williams with one finger if she chose to.  Even though she has a PhD in Epidemiology, she seems to have been born to be outdoors. 
        The Summer Youth Program first attracted Carmen to the Project in 2001.  A focused, outgoing individual, she easily formed relaxed, nurturing relationships with the teenagers working on the mesa.  That Carmen could not only keep up with them but occasionally led them up the steep rugged slopes made them admire her even more.  For the kids who forget their own supplies, she is often found carrying extra water and snacks in her already heavy daypack.  Her wonderful sense of humor and unfailing kindness make each day on the mesa easier and more fun. 
        Carmen completed her 10th Summer Youth Intern Program this year.  She attends every day of the two-week program and works side by side with the youth recorders in the heat on difficult terrain.   Carmen is attuned to keeping the youth ‘on task’ and sensing when one needs a bit of extra direction or encouragement.  She predictably provides transportation to and from Mesa Prieta for youth participants who reside in the Taos area.
        In addition to the SYIP, Carmen has been an active petroglyph recorder with MPPP off and on since 2005.  Again, her energy and enthusiasm endeared her to the teams she recorded with in the field.
        An active and sustaining member of the Taos Archaeological Society, Carmen ties the activities of the two groups together, whether it is tours, trips, lectures or whatever common interest the two groups share.
        We are proud to call Carmen Acosta Johnson the MPPP Volunteer of the Year for 2011!

MPPP Certificates of Appreciation

       Volunteers are recognized for hours spent as docent tour leaders, petroglyph recorders and surveyors, training, school curriculum, Summer Youth Intern Program, office assistance, library organization, Petroglyph Committee participation, data base and leadership responsibilities.  This year, volunteers serving 5 years or more were presented with free Docent-Led Tour tickets for the Wells Petroglyph Preserve in appreciation for their many hours and miles dedicated to the project.
Volunteers recognized are:
10 Years - Carmen Acosta Johnson – 10 Year Service Certificate
5 Years and more - Candie and Lee Borduin, Judy Chaddick, Don and Kathy Fiero, Dick Ford, Suzie Frazier, Bob Greene, Esta Gutierrez, Ruth Holmes, Carmen Johnson, Bob McCarthy, John Pitts, Jim Romero, Sandra and Steven Rudy, Russ Shinn, Jeff Toomey, Katherine Wells and Paul Williams.