The Botetourt County Historical Society, Inc. held its 27th annual Founder’s Day celebration earlier this month at the Fincastle United Methodist Church Family Life Center. During the evening, several award presentations were made. Recipients here are pictured with BCHS member Angela Coon.
The Garland Stevens Volunteer Service Award was presented to Deputy Jonathan Mason for his hard work and support of the Historical Society’s museum in Fincastle. He has been in law enforcement for 17 years, 13 of those in Botetourt County. “Deputy Mason and his work crew have tackled countless jobs that keep our grounds and operations running smoothly,” said BCHS member Angela Coon, who presented the awards.
The Emily Gordon Honts Award had three recipients this year. The first was Steve Clinton. He has been on the Board of Supervisors for 21 years, serving as chairman for nine years. He has been instrumental in work on the preservation of Historic Greenfield. He spends a great amount of time researching and helping with the preservation of Botetourt County’s History. He is on the Greenfield Historic Preservation Commission, which is working to raise funds to restore the two cabins located on the property.
The next recipient was Danny Kyle. He has been president of Preservation Botetourt, Inc. (PBI) for nine years and has worked tirelessly to share the relevance and importance of Greenfield. He has helped with the archaeological project of the home site where artifacts dating back to the 1700s were discovered. He has worked diligently to preserve Native American sites at Greenfield. He has participated in living history events and set up displays of historical items at many venues, such as the Botetourt County Administration Office, schools, libraries and Historic Fincastle Festivals.
The last recipient was the Rev. Robert McRae. With his interest in history, love of biking and photography, an idea for a book began to form in 2013 as he worked with Botetourt County Council of Weekday Religious Education when it needed a list of all of the county churches. In February of 2020, he and wife Jane joined a group that traveled to the Holy Land. By the time they returned home, the idea turned into a book published in 2022 called Sentinels of the Faith – Call to Worship in Historic Botetourt, Virginia. It is available at the Botetourt Museum of History & Culture in Fincastle.
