Fort Ticonderoga recently announced that Mary Ellen Ellithorpe (Em) of Putnam, NY, has received the 2016 Fort Ticonderoga Volunteer of the Year award in recognition of her dedicated service to Fort Ticonderoga. Em gave tirelessly of her time and energy this past summer implementing a survey with guests. Collecting hundreds of surveys, Em logged in nearly 30 hours as part of this project and other volunteer activity. Her smiling face and pleasant approach encouraged our visitors to share their thoughts on our exhibits and presentation of Ticonderoga’s big guns.
In addition to the survey, Em volunteered in other areas of operations including development, special events, and education. She plans to continue her volunteer work during the winter months in our Collection’s Department where she will assist in cataloging.
“Em’s support and assistance at Fort Ticonderoga has had a substantial impact on our organization,” said Beth Hill, President and CEO. “Her enthusiasm for Fort Ticonderoga’s mission and programs is contagious and enabled the surveying process to exceed our expectations. Through her work, we were able to track important data that will help drive our decisions for future exhibitions and related programs. We are very grateful to her for her service.”
Other volunteer recognition:
Papercut Award: Frank Schlamp for his unwavering volunteer support for collections and for creating an index for hundreds of pages of institutional scrapbooks, as well as his leadership in organizing and documenting our archeological collections.
Thompson-Pell Award: Carl Crego for his scholarship and organizing and processing the Thompson and Pell archives, and for his support in procuring archival supplies.
Q-Tip Award: Bonnie Sheeley for her determination, dedication, and donation of thousands of specialty Q-tips to clean the Ethan Allen statue using conservation appropriate methods.
Spreading the Beauty Award: Betty Rettig for her time in the King’s Garden cutting the beautiful flowers and creating splendid bouquets that welcome guests, and enhance our many events.
The Three MUSKETeers Award: Jim Beaty, Doug Chase, and Jim O’Toole who love Fort Ticonderoga, the guns, and always make a big booming effort to raise awareness and support.
The Volunteer of the Year Award along with several other volunteer related awards were presented at Fort Ticonderoga’s Annual Volunteer Appreciation Reception on September 29th.
Fort Ticonderoga volunteers have given nearly 9,000 hours so far in 2016 in areas including interpretation, horticulture, education, development, collections, exhibitions, and buildings and grounds. New volunteers are welcome to apply to the program which offers numerous and enriching volunteer opportunities. Volunteer information and applications are available on Fort Ticonderoga’s website at www.fortticonderoga.org or by calling 518-585-2821.
America’s Fort is a registered trademark of the Fort Ticonderoga Association.
Photo: Mary Ellen Ellithorpe (Em) of Putnam, NY, received the 2016 Fort Ticonderoga Volunteer of the Year award in recognition of her dedicated service to Fort Ticonderoga. Photographed (L-R) Beth Hill, Fort Ticonderoga President and CEO; Em Ellithorpe, 2016 Volunteer of the Year; Matthew Keagle, Fort Ticonderoga Curator of Collections. Photo credit Fort Ticonderoga.