UDC awards ceremony set for Sept. 12

The Upper Delaware Council will celebrate those who have enhanced the quality of life or protected the resources of the Upper Delaware River Valley at an awards ceremony on Sept. 12.

New York State Senator Mike Martucci, Republican of the 42nd District, will be the keynote speaker.

The following recipients will be honored:

*Distinguished Service Award:* Kevin Reish, a U.S. park ranger for the National Park Service (retired), for 34 years of service at the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River from 1987-2021, including roles as the first Water Safety Program Manager, instructor, presenter, wildland firefighter, Special Events Team member and active participant in numerous
river rescues.

*Robin M. Daniels Memorial Lifesaving Award:* Sparrowbush Engine Company, for 60 years of providing highly skilled volunteer emergency services in often challenging conditions on land and water, particularly at the Route 97 Hawk’s Nest and on the Delaware River.

*Partnership Award*: Trust for Public Land, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Sullivan County, and the Town of Delaware, for collaborating to transform an abandoned property in Callicoon, N.Y., into a 40-acre riverside park for public recreational use and municipal services.

*Outstanding Community Achievement Award: *The Town of Highland, N.Y., for supporting multiple beautification, recreational access and historic projects that spotlight the river and for revising the Town Zoning Code to conform to the Upper Delaware Land and Water Use Guidelines.

*Recreation Achievement Awards:* Knotweed Management Project, for the invasive plant species research and educational outreach efforts coordinated by Friends of the Upper Delaware River; and Keep Hawley-Honesdale Beautiful, for its accomplishments in roadside andriverside volunteer litter clean-up activities since 2017.

*Volunteer Award:* Edwin “Ed” Jackson of Narrowsburg, N.Y., for his nearly two-decade tenure as Town of Tusten Planning Board chairman, his leadership with the New York State Planning Federation and dedication to veterans’ causes.

*Cultural Achievement Awards: *Michael Rocco “Rocky” Pinciotti of Cochecton, N.Y., for his contributions as an artist, teacher and director of the Delaware Valley Arts Alliance Gallery from 2005-2020; and The Delaware Company, for keeping history alive through commemorations, new markers, a river trail extension and Sullivan County site programming at
Sullivan County’s Fort Delaware Museum of Colonial History and Minisink Battleground Park.

*Community Service Award*: Andy Boyar of Eldred, N.Y., for his fervor to protect the health and safety of the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River, conception of the 15-community Upper Delaware Litter Sweep, presidency of the Upper Delaware Chapter of Trout Unlimited and fulfillment of local government leadership roles.

*Special Recognition Awards:* WJFF Radio Catskill, for its programming focus on Upper Delaware River Valley issues, interests, and individuals; and Bonnie Sheard of Milanville, Pa., for nearly four decades of work and volunteer activity at the National Park Service Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River, including as manager of the Commercial & Special Park
Uses Program.

*Oaken Gavel Award:* Larry H. Richardson, Town of Cochecton, N.Y., representative from 1989 to present, for his leadership in chairing the Upper Delaware Council during 2020.

The banquet will take place at Central House Family Resort, at 81 Milanville Road in Beach Lake, Pa. A reception with hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar begins at 3 p.m. The buffet dinner is set for 4 p.m. Tickets are $30 and must be reserved by Sept. 3.