We have a new award this year. We received several nominations for the Lifetime Achievement Award and both were extremely worthy. Our next awardee is still very active in the field, so we have decided to award her our Midnight Sun Award! The Midnight Sun Award is an award that may be awarded for extraordinary achievements.
Our very first Midnight Sun Awardee is CJ Jones, consultant and former executive director of the Haines Sheldon Museum! Bethany Buckingham Follett presented the award:
“CJ served for 21 years as director of the Sheldon Museum in Haines and has served on the Haines Volunteer Fire Department as a firefighter and EMT2 since 1983. She has instructed many emergency preparedness courses and drills and worked in law enforcement. In 2016 CJ served as interim director of the Museum of the Aleutians and recently came back to the Haines Sheldon Museum to help with their reaccreditation process.
CJ has been a quiet, kind, and passionate leader in our field for decades – always promoting our work and its purpose. She has lobbied in Juneau for our museums and cultural institutions. CJ is always ready to help and go where she is needed, anywhere in the state. Every time I talk with CJ or see her in passing at various activities and events I always learn something new about her experiences. and CJ always has a bit of knowledge and information to impart to me that helps me move forward in my own museum and emergency preparedness work. I am sure each of you have your own adventures with CJ, and if not, no worries, I am sure she will be there to assist you when you need it or least expect it.
We look forward to her continued contributions to the field in the coming years because she doesn’t seem to be slowing down.
Congratulations, CJ, on setting the bar for this first Midnight Sun Award for extraordinary achievements. Thank you for all you’ve done for our field!”
