Editor’s Note: At the January 4 City Council meeting, a standing-room-only audience packed New City Hall to pay tribute to Mayor Bowen’s yearly award recipients. On behalf of a grateful community, thank you to them and all of the volunteers who give so much to our community!

Kandee McClain, 2021 Jacksonville Person of the Year—Kandee McClain, a 5th generation Oregonian and 39-year Southern Oregonian citizen, has called Jacksonville home for the past 10 years. Kandee’s years as an elementary and middle school teacher doubtless contributed to her willingness and ability to inspire and motivate volunteer activities.

And those activities are numerous:

She is an active member of the Presbyterian Church, serving as a Deacon and currently as a Stephen Minister.

Kandee is an essential Booster Club member, chairing its Arboretum Committee, co-chairing its Social Committee, and serving on the Boosters Foundation Board of Directors, all while regularly participating in hands-on Boosters’ projects. No surprise that she was voted Booster of the Year in 2018.

For the Jacksonville Woodlands Association, Kandee has served as a Board member, Secretary and now as President. She has led the establishment of a first-ever endowment to help assure the continued care of the Woodlands’ extensive trails.

Kandee has inspired an increasing number of volunteers in the 5-year renovation of the Beekman Arboretum, including massive trimming and weed control; extensive plantings; a new irrigation system; restoring the water feature and trails; and creating a new, large picnic shelter.

Finally, she managed to find the time to serve the City on its Parks, Recreation and Visitors Services Committee, first as a member and then as chair for two terms.

It is with great pleasure that I present the Jacksonville Person of the Year Award for 2021 to Kandee McClain.

Carolyn Kingsnorth, 2020 Jacksonville Person of the Year—While Carolyn Kingsnorth was born and grew up in Georgia, she really found her home in 2003 when she and late husband, Bob, left frenetic Los Angeles and moved to peaceful Old Military Road near Jacksonville.

Carolyn and Bob quickly immersed themselves in Jacksonville, becoming active in the Jacksonville Boosters Club. While Bob helped with Boosters’ projects, Carolyn became a Booster leader, serving as Boosters President from 2006-2009 and being named Booster of the Year in 2007. If this was not enough, Carolyn purchased the Jacksonville Review, publishing it for three years before selling it to the Parkers. Carolyn continues to write a popular monthly Jacksonville history column, Pioneer Profiles, for the Review.

With a degree in history, Carolyn became concerned when the Southern Oregon Historical Society’s funding collapsed, threatening the future of several, important historic buildings, including this former Courthouse and the Beekman House. Carolyn remembers: “This was a sad time. The Society could not afford to keep these historical buildings and Jacksonville could not afford to lose them.”

Carolyn joined a small group to establish the Jacksonville Heritage Society, which subleased the Beekman House and the Courthouse as well as three other Jacksonville historic buildings. Carolyn took responsibility for the Beekman House, and so began her intense stewardship and promotion of it that continues today.

After the City of Jacksonville got title to the properties in 2012, Carolyn co-founded Historic Jacksonville, Inc., a non-profit dedicated to bringing Jacksonville history to life and life to Jacksonville’s history, focusing on the Beekman House and Beekman Bank. Carolyn’s devotion and gracious persistence has resulted in the extensive and much-needed restoration and repairs to preserve both important structures.

While Covid-19 has presented major challenges to Carolyn’s plans for Historic Jacksonville, she has remained its creative and the energy force. In normal times the Beekman House and the Beekman Bank feature history tours with costumed docents. In addition, when feasible, Historic Jacksonville sponsors Haunted History tours and one-hour “Walk Through History” tours in the summer. Even with the challenges of the past two years, Carolyn’s energy and drive have kept these two important parts of our rich history alive and visible. She helped develop a virtual “Walk Through History” tour of Jacksonville, created weekly Beekman House Facebook and Instagram posts, and utilized a Covid-19 Cares grant to produce a 30-minute video tour of Jacksonville.

The Beekman House and the Beekman Bank remain the only museum-quality historic buildings that remain open in Jacksonville, preserving a significant part of our heritage. For this, we thank our 2020 Person of the Year, Carolyn Kingsnorth.

Tony Hess, Lifetime Achievement Award—It was 2001 when Tony Hess and his wife, Joan, made Jacksonville their new home. They quickly joined the Boosters Club and Tony began yet another career: becoming the quintessential Jacksonville volunteer.

By 2003, Tony found himself on the Jacksonville Woodlands Board as treasurer and contracting officer for a $905,000 grant-financed fuel reduction project that cleaned out dead and dying trees in 300 Woodlands’ acres and neighboring lands, a true inspiration for our current fire prevention programs.

When serious controversy arose over the proposed sale of the city’s former watershed reservoir land to the Motorcycle Riders Association, Tony chaired a committee of citizens, MRA and government agency reps that, after nearly a year of meetings, offered-up the solution that exchanged some low-elevation MRA property for some high-elevation land, provided some compensation and effectively removed motor bikes from what would become our Forest Park.

The newly consolidated property became Tony’s latest challenge and after a two-year struggle with the County, the land was designated a park in 2007.

Beginning in 2008, Tony led volunteer park rangers, Boosters conscripts and numerous Eagle Scout aspirants in building an extensive network of trails, bridges, kiosks and historical site designations and the Forest Park was born. It now presents over 40 miles of interconnected trails, with shelters, benches and numerous stunning views of Jacksonville and surroundings.

In his former career, Tony drilled for minerals. In his volunteer career, Tony proved a master at drilling for grants. When the Boosters sought funding for Peter Britt Gardens’ paver paths, Tony found Park and Recreation grant gold. When the Forest Park’s popularity mandated real restrooms, it was Tony who not only found the funds but helped with its design and installation.

Despite this seeming full-time commitment to the Forest Park, Tony regularly participated in Boosters’ projects, garnering the Club’s highest honor, the Booster of the Year award in 2013.

For some, retirement means golf, fishing or just relaxation. Not for Tony. When asked, the octogenarian observed: “When you turn 65 or 70, you just can’t turn it off. If you stop being active when you retire, you are not going to live long.”

Thanks, Tony, for living so well for Jacksonville. Please accept this Lifetime Achievement Award from a grateful City of Jacksonville.