Wrangell-area U.S. Forest Service interpreter Corree Delabrue (at right) receives the 2015 Hakala Award from Toby Bloom, national program manager for tourism, travel and interpretation in Washington D.C. The Alaska-specific award was presented during the National Association for Interpretation Conference in Virginia Beach last month.
An interpreter with the United States Forest Service has received an award recognizing her work in the Wrangell Ranger District.
Corree Delabrue was last month presented the Hakala Award, an agency award which recognizes sustained excellence in interpretive and conservation education for Alaska. She is the 24th winner of the prize, named after Bob Hakala, the first regional interpreter of the USFS Alaska Region.
USFS Tongass interpretation program manager Faith Duncan explained award winners are selected internally by a group of judges, from a pool of candidates within the Chugach and Tongass National Forest systems.
"She has professionally introduced hundreds of visitors to their first Alaska outdoor experience on public land," Duncan wrote in a media release. "Corree's passion is for providing conservation education, and has worked with partners to create new opportunities for local youth."
Delabrue was presented with the Hakala during the agency award night of the National Association for Interpretation National Conference in Virginia Beach, Va. Held this year from Nov. 10 to 14, the annual conference drew over 600 interpreters from around the country.
In the parlance of public education, interpretation is a position which connects people at parks, museums, historic locations, zoos and other educational sites with those sites' elements of natural, cultural and historical importance. In the national forest system, interpreters guide visitors through wilderness areas, give broader context to what is being experienced, and facilitate educational presentations to the wider community.
For the past five years, Delabrue has been such a specialist with the Wrangell Ranger District of the Tongass National Forest. Bestowal of the Hakala acknowledges her work within the district, from the implementation of programming and special school events to staff training. Among the projects she has been involved with that Wrangell residents may be familiar with are the annual Bird Fest, Alaska Bearfest, "Read With a Ranger" at the library, and seasonal Chautauqua talks at the Nolan Center.
"The award acknowledges her skills and abilities with the interpretive program," said Wrangell Ranger Bob Dalrymple. "She is an exceptional employee and her work with the schools and the visitor industry is extraordinary."
Dalrymple explained interpretation is a core program of USFS, particularly because it reaches out to youth and enables park-goers to better connect to public resources.
"It's a really good way to get people to appreciate the resources they do have," he explained. "Her enthusiasm is contagious, which is exactly our hope."
"It was really nice to go to that conference," Delabrue said afterward. The five-day event also featured professional workshops, which she was particularly interested in. One which caught her attention explored trends in technology, identifying how to use it to improve visitor experiences and incorporate it in education.
"Going to the workshop was really nice," she said. Delabrue explained she loves her job, and that she appreciated the opportunity to learn something new that would be applicable to her work here. Remembering the award, she added: "Of course, it's always nice to be recognized."
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