Unexpected Recognition

About a week ago, the Chair of our Department called me into his office with little warning. I don't know why, but I always feel nervous when he does this - like getting called to the Principal's office. The President's Office (of the school, not the country) had called to ask that I attend an awards ceremony at the Hawthorne Hotel in recognition of my help on mapping Salem Woods. This was something I had worked on with Alan Young in Biology and one of my graduate students - Jen Sumael - three years ago! I agreed, of course, and contacted Jen to make sure she attended as well.
On Tuesday, the Hawthorne Hotel honored Chris Burke of the Friends of Salem Woods, and Salem State College, for our work in preserving a place of historical significance - Salem Woods (you can read about the event itself on the Hawthorne Hotel's blog). Alan Young was not able to attend, so President Meservey attended in order to receive the award on his behalf. When she spoke at the event, she described how her office had received a call from the Hawthorne Hotel announcing their desire to recognize Salem State for work on the Salem Woods map and brochure. The funny thing was that no one seemed to know who exactly at the College had done this work. It took the President's office a little while to figure it out and track us down. In any case, it was a nice surprise.