Heritage Sandy Springs Honors Volunteers At Awards Ceremony

SANDY SPRINGS, GA — Heritage Sandy Springs members, volunteers, and staff recently came together to host the organization's Annual Volunteer Recognition, which recognized its 2018 award recipients.

These volunteers were honored on Dec. 12 for their dedication to the community and their contributions to Heritage Sandy Springs, which provides a slew of programs and initiatives designed to educate the public about the history of the city.

“Heritage Sandy Springs would not be where we are today without three decades of committed and caring volunteers,” said Executive Director Carol Thompson.“Starting with Joey Mason, Garnett Cobb, Dottie Megal, and others who saved the spring site and relocated the Williams-Payne House, volunteers have created, built, and supported Heritage Sandy Springs since 1985. Today’s volunteers are equally dedicated and engaged, filling a variety of roles that allow our nonprofit to offer history, culture, events, and a peaceful green space to our citizens and visitors. Thank you to every volunteer who has helped us this year in whatever capacity – you are the wind beneath our wings, and we salute you! We hope to see you often at Heritage Green in 2019 as we continue to work for a better Sandy Springs.”

The 2018 volunteer awards and recipients were:

YOUTH VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR AWARD – Riley Oravetz
The recipient of this award is recognized for outstanding contributions to the community through volunteer work with events or programs such as the Festival, Concerts, museum programming, membership events, etc.

JAMES KAMBOURIAN LANDSCAPE AWARD – Sandy Springs Garden Club
Honors an individual or organization for outstanding contributions to the Heritage Green gardens, park landscaping, and nature-based programs.

HISTORIC ACHIEVEMENT AWARD – Mary Killian
Recognizes outstanding volunteer work that uses Heritage Sandy Springs’ historic collections to help the community better understand and appreciate local heritage through: cataloging collections, archives, and library resources; collections conservation; exhibition development and support; and / or original research.

HISTORIC PRESERVATION LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD – Morris Moore
This special award was given to recognize three decades of dedication and hard work to preserve Sandy Springs history for generations to come.

COMMUNITY PARTNER AWARD – Michael Blish, Champion Windows and Home Exteriors of Atlanta
Established in 2005, this award honors business sponsors for their exemplary support of the organization through sponsorship, provision of volunteers, equipment, and/or expertise for programs or physical improvements to the site.

SANDY SPRINGS FESTIVAL VOLUNTEER AWARD – Andrea Settles and Elizabeth Kelly
Honors extraordinary service to the community through volunteer commitment to the Sandy Springs Festival.

VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR AWARD – Jeff & Tami Kushner
Recipient is selected based on extraordinary services during the current year.

PRESIDENT’S AWARD – Shawn Cunniff
This award is given at the discretion of the President of the Board of Trustees for outstanding contributions to Heritage Sandy Springs.

GARNETT COBB OUTSTANDING VOLUNTEER AWARD – Stacey Hader Epstein
A recipient is selected from among all volunteers who have exhibited extraordinary service over the years, not limited to the current year of service.

Heritage Sandy Springs relies heavily on volunteer support in order to present recreational, historical, and educational programs. For more information about getting involved, visit www.heritagesandysprings.org.

Images via Dark Rush Photography