Southeastern Regional Association of the National Speleological Society
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Francis McKinney Award
The Southeastern Regional Association (SERA) Francis McKinney Award is named in honor of Francis E. McKinney, whose enthusiasm for all aspects of caving was an inspiration for all who knew him. This award recognizes those SERA cavers who have made meritorious contributions to caving in the Southeast. The nominee will have been actively involved in several types of caving, be it mapping, horizontal, vertical, etc. for more than ten years and will have contributed to organized caving by holding grotto or regional office. It is hoped that this award will encourage the recipient toward further accomplishment and contribution.
Criteria:
The Criteria for the SERA Francis McKinney Award is as follows:Award:1. The Francis McKinney Award will be given to a caver with more than 10 years caving experience.
2. The nominee will be a sport caver, that is, caving is not a part of his or her professional life.
3. The nominee will be one who has contributed to organized caving by holding grotto or regional offices, given talks and led trips for scouts, etc.
4. The recipient will have been active in several types of caving including but not limited to: mapping, horizontal, vertical, history, conservation, photography etc.
5. The nominee will be one who has openly made their work available to the general caving population via published material. Examples of that material include grotto, regional, section or national publications, as well as other publications.
6. The nominee will be an NSS member in good standing.
7. The nominee will be a SERA caver.
Download nomination form. PDF
The Francis McKinney Award may be awarded on a merit basis at the annual SERA Winter Business meeting. It will consist of:Past Francis McKinney Award Recipients:1. A $50.00 Cash award to the recipient. Funds for this award will come from SERA general funds or an account specifically set up for this award.
2. A Framed Certificate, which constitutes the Award itself.
3. A Plaque bearing the recipient's name shall be displayed in the NSS Office.
4. The recipient's name will be announced in the NSS News, and made available to regional, grotto and any other appropriate publications.
Year Recipient 1977 Gerald Moni 1978 Lin Guy 1979 Dr. Cato Holler 1980 Steve Hudson 1981 Marion O. Smith 1982 Joel Sneed 1983 Buddy Lane 1984 Bill Varnadoe 1985 David Parr 1986 Jim Whidby 1987 Allen Padgett 1988 Frank Hutchison 1989 Bill Torode 1990 Richard Schreiber 1991 Larry E. Matthews 1992 Larry O. Blair 1993 Edward A. Strausser 1994 Mike Doughty 1995 Jack Thomison 1996 Laurie Adams 1997 Bill Walter 1998 Joel Buckner 1999 Wm Shrewsbury 2000 Kenneth Huffines 2001 Randall Blackwood 2002 Tom Moltz 2003 Marbry Hardin 2004 Don Lance 2005 Maureen Handler 2006 Keith Filson 2007 Ken Oeser 2008 Peter “Mudpuppy” Michaud 2009 Not Awarded 2010 Julie Schenck Brown 2011 Not Awarded 2012 Chuck Lindquist 2013 Jason Richards 2014 Cheryl Pratt 2015 Not Awarded 2016 Ben Miller 2017 Mike Rogers 2018 Chuck Sutherland 2019 Alan Cressler 2020 Nathaniel Mann 2021 Jeff Patton 2022 Jim Fox 2023 NOT AWARDED 2024 Bill DeVan