This year, the Outstanding Volunteer award went to Diana Wasson, a board member and volunteer of the Eagle Historical Society and Museum (EHS&M). Diana has been assisting EHS&M on a multi-year project to preserve and restore the St. Paul’s Mission church in Eagle. As part of this bigger project, in 2023 she applied for a Museums Alaska Collections Management Fund grant to contract with a conservator to perform a condition assessment, document, and clean two moosehide drapes and eight textiles on display in the historic church.
Diana dedicated a significant amount of her time and was a key part of the success of this project. She showed a great level of motivation and skill, and assisted in all components—from hosting the conservator in Eagle on two on-site visits, to assisting in collections care tasks. These tasks were outside her area of experience but she embraced the situation.
She also helped to organize the collections care presentations and community workshops, and was instrumental in involving the community in the project. Her enthusiasm and love of Eagle—its museums and history—is impressive.
“Eagle Historical Society and Museum is an entirely volunteer-run organization,” said Dixie Clough, director of Museums Alaska, “and in volunteer-run organizations, it takes a village, but you also need especially dedicated people to rally the group around important projects like this one. Diana went above and beyond to manage this project, and we couldn’t be more happy to present this award for her exceptional volunteer work.”
