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Fort Frederica sign
Since it was established in 1936, Fort Frederica National Monument has been an example of excellence in historic preservation and innovative education. In its early days, Frederica was the site of some of the most comprehensive historical archeological excavations ever carried out. In the 1990s, the fort created and played host to an education program that revolutionized the way colonial history and S.T.E.M. principals were taught in elementary schools. The new Junior Ranger book developed at the fort in the 2000s is considered the gold standard throughout the National Park Service. Frederica’s Volunteer Program was recognized as the most outstanding in the Southeast Region in 2018 and 2019. In 2020, Fort Frederica added more feathers to its cap, so to speak, with its staff and volunteers earning recognition for their dedication, innovation, and exemplary contributions to the National Park Service and the community.
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Abbott Memorial at Fort Frederica
Michael Seibert received three prestigious awards for work he did to resolve a long-standing question about the location of burials of enslaved and freed populations of African-Americans on St. Simons Island. Working closely with stakeholders, Seibert developed a research methodology to locate burials with minimal ground disturbance, established a committee who participated in the decision-making process, and hosted a re-dedication ceremony involving four different religious sects. The project culminated in a day-long festival celebrating Gullah Geechee cultural heritage. Seibert also supervised and mentored students and volunteers who played integral roles in researching biographies of the interred individuals, developing outreach events and materials, and contacting stakeholder groups. The fort’s new museum exhibit highlighting the insights gained from this project was created under his design.
Seibert was recognized by the National Park Service with the 2020 John L. Cotter Award for Excellence in Archeology National Award, which is presented to individuals and teams who demonstrate innovation in archeological practice, resource stewardship, and public outreach, among other criteria. This award celebrates the kind of work the National Park Service wishes to see system-wide. He also received the 2020 Freeman Tilden Award for Interpretation Southeast Region, the highest Interpretation and Education awards presented to a National Park Service individual or team to recognize outstanding contributions to the profession of interpretation and education. This award was created to inspire and reward creative thinking and original programs/projects in our National Parks that result in positive and meaningful impacts for the visitors and for the preservation of the parks. The NPS Directors also awarded Seibert the 2020 Appleman-Judd-Lewis Excellence in Cultural Resource Management, which recognizes expertise and outstanding contributions to cultural resource stewardship and management employees of the National Park Service. This award was designed to encourage creativity in cultural resource stewardship and management practices and projects, particularly those that may serve as examples or models for programs service-wide.
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Cannons at Fort Frederica
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Ruins and Deer at Fort Frederica
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Fort Frederica 2021
Fort Frederica’s volunteers received 2020 recognition as well, with George and Helen Hartzog Volunteerism Awards granted to Tom and Karen Hartley and the Glynn Academy Ethnology Club. It was former National Park Service Director George B. Hartzog, Jr. who created the Volunteers-In-Parks (VIP) program in 1970. After his retirement, George and his wife Helen remembered the VIP program with a generous donation to the National Park Foundation. This fund has been used to support awards that honor the efforts of exceptional volunteers, groups, and park VIP programs.
Tom and Karen Hartley received the Hartzog Individual Volunteer National Award for the dedication they exhibited when, at the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, they safely remained at the park past their original commitment to help staff begin new protocols, train new employees, and provide visitors with the opportunity to continue experiencing their national parks.
The Hartleys also built an 18th-century bake oven for visitor programming and trained staff in its use, created and marked 1.5 miles of nature trails for visitors to safely social distance and enjoy access to a previously unused part of the park. They assisted park staff with the development and hosting of an African American festival day that focused on the life of Robert S. Abbott and the discovery of an unmarked cemetery containing Abbott’s father and two aunts, and developed a self-guided nature walk with signage and brochures along existing trails.
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Visitors at Fort Frederica
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Fort Frederica site
The Hartzog Youth Group Volunteer Award Southeast Region was granted to a group of students from Glynn Academy who created a volunteer organization to carry out a series of excavations and educational programs throughout 2020 and 2021. The excavations have yielded new information on the development of the town during the colonial period and its continued use/habitation through the 1940s. Their findings have led to new interpretative programming, including museum exhibits, and provided a unique perspective and experience to park visitors. The efforts of the students increased community awareness of the park, providing opportunities for remote learning, and modified educational programming to schools. The students act as ambassadors for Fort Frederica, recruiting new volunteers and assisting with visitor messaging. Their work and positive attitudes had led to the donation of over $50,000 to the Friends of Fort Frederica for the development of archeological education programming and internship opportunities. In 2021, the Friends of Fort Frederica were able to offer the first archeological educational internships to four students from Glynn Academy.
We are so proud to have Fort Frederica National Monument and its incredible staff and volunteers continuing to further our education about and beyond colonial history here in our island home. For more information about Fort Frederica and its programs, visit nps.gov/fofr and follow the park on Facebook.
