Each year at the Ouabache Land Conservancy Annual Celebration, two awards are presented - the Marion T. Jackson Conservationist of the Year Award and the Gerald H. McGlone Volunteer of the Year Award.

Barbara Weber received the MARION T. JACKSON CONSERVATIONIST OF THE YEAR AWARD

This award is presented annually to an individual who has demonstrated outstanding work in promoting conservation of our natural areas. The award is named in honor of its first recipient, former OLC board member Dr. Marion T. Jackson, who passed away in 2019. Marion was a professor of Life Sciences at Indiana State University for 37 years and mentored many students who went on to become conservationists themselves. He spent his summers working for the U.S. Forest Service, The National Park Service, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. He authored several books on Indiana's natural heritage and biodiversity, and held leadership roles in numerous conservation organizations, as well as in the Indiana Academy of Science.

Barb, an OLC advisory board member, received this award because of her dedication to managing invasive plant species. In addition to her involvement with OLC, Barb is involved with local volunteer group Vigo Invasives Management, which provides education about invasive plants in Vigo County, Indiana. Barb participates in local Weed Wrangles, works hard to spread awareness about the importance of managing invasive plant species, and much more!

Barbara Weber is pictured here with her award and OLC President Alysa Morley

Bill Mitchell and Denise Marie Sobieski received the GERALD H. MCGLONE VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR AWARD

This award is presented annually to an individual who has demonstrated outstanding volunteer contributions of time and effort in order to advance the cause of Ouabache Land Conservancy. This award is named in honor of its first recipient, Terre Haute attorney Gerald (Jerry) H. McGlone, a current member of the OLC advisory board. One of Jerry’s exemplary trial cases involved a river bayou in Sullivan County that was threatened with takeover by private landowners. Jerry undertook a lawsuit to have the bayou declared public property under the ordinance of Congress which created Indiana and other states in the Northwest territory. After a 10-year legal battle and a jury trial, the seven-mile-long bayou was declared public property, preserving a piece of Indiana in its natural state. This litigation was done as a public service to the people of Indiana without charge.

Bill and Denise are both OLC board members, and they received this award for many reasons - the ideas, energy, teamwork, and enthusiasm they have brought to OLC, their willingness to take on various different roles, and their long-term support of OLC (both of them previously served on the board). Each of them is working to help take OLC to the next level. They were also both co-chairs of this year’s annual celebration!