UPPER DELAWARE RIVER — The members and guests of the Upper Delaware Council (UDC) gathered in Beach Lake on Sunday, September 22 to pay tribute to standout community figures for their contributions to the river valley. 

The UDC is an organization that mediates between the National Parks Service and local communities to safeguard private property rights and preserve the scenic and recreational values of the Upper Delaware River. It has given out the River Valley Awards for 36 years, honoring the people who have enhanced the region’s quality of life and protected its resources, according to the organization. 

Honored at this year’s River Valley Awards were such community stand-outs as Beverly Sterner, the founder of the Upper Delaware Community Network messaging board; Meg McGuire, the founder of the online news publication Delaware Currents; and Tess McBeath, the longtime Delaware Town Clerk and Tax Collector. 

Sullivan County Historian John Conway received the Distinguished Service Award for his decades of service in that role as well as for his extensive work to inform the Sullivan County community about its history, including through his work founding non-profit The Delaware Company. 

The youngest recipient, 12-year-old Ian Pammer, was also interested in history and received a Special Recognition Award for his regular volunteering with the Delaware Company’s Fort Delaware. UDC Executive Director Laurie Ramie related how he has become an integral part of the fort’s presenters, and related the anecdote that, when Pammer was six years old, he told Conway he wanted to be the next Sullivan County Historian. 

Nathan Reigner, the Director of Outdoor Recreation with the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, delivered opening remarks for the awards banquet. He shared the principals by which Pennsylvania is developing its outdoors recreation economy 

One of them—“there’s more to fishing than catching fish”—emphasized that people enjoy outdoors recreation for reasons other than the activities they’re in the outdoors to do. 

“What are the benefits we get from [outdoors recreation]? Quality time with friends and family, challenge and accomplishment, learning and discovery, to escape from daily life, being a member of [a community] — that, I think, is what outdoors recreation is all about,” he said. 

The honorees were:

• Aaron Robinson, who received the Oaken Gavel Award for leading the UDC as its chairperson in 2023;
• Lisa Glover, who received a Special Recognition Award for creating a map outlining the “Big Eddy Narrows” in Narrowsburg;
• Meg McGuire, who received a Special Recognition Award for founding the Delaware Currents online news publication;
• Beverly Sterner, who received a Special Recognition Award for founding the Upper Delaware Community Network;
• Ian Pammer, who received a Special Recognition Award for his volunteering with Fort Delaware;
• Paul C. King, who received a Cultural Achievement Award for his historical work on engineer John Roebling;
• The TriVersity Pride Center, which received a Recreation Achievement Award for a LGBTQUIA+ paddling excursion;
• Tess McBeath, who received a Community Service Award for her work as Delaware Town Clerk and her numerous community efforts;
• Jane Luchsinger, who received a Volunteer Award for her contributions to the Tusten community;
• The collection of organizations that partnered to upgrade the Long Eddy Fishing Access Site received a Partnership Award; and
• John Conway received a Distinguished Service Award for his work as the Sullivan County Historian and beyond.