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Grand Canyon Historical Society |
2004 Hall of Fame Award for Community Service
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The Grand Canyon Pioneer Society and the National Park Service also inducted two people into the Grand Canyon Hall of Fame for Community Service. Ronald C. Clayton (living) and Edwin D. McKee (deceased) were the 2004 inductees.
The seventh annual awards named these two individuals who have shown exemplary service to the Grand Canyon community. Both recipients have made personal contributions of money, time, and work over a period of many years. These folks were recommended for their community service by previous recipients of the award. We rely on their recommendations as they know better than anyone who has been involved in community service at the Grand Canyon.
Ron Clayton is best known as the "Dean of the Mule College" at Grand Canyon but his commitment to community service is most appreciated by his fellow citizens. For years he has volunteered his time and efforts in northern Arizona as an auctioneer for charitable causes. Ron has hosted so many of these events he cannot remember them all. Such organizations as Chambers of Commerce, Rotary, the Baptist Church, and fundraisers for sick and injured individuals in dire need have benefited from his dedication to service. For 20 years, Ron has been a fixture at the Grand Canyon Chamber's 4th of July Parade auction and has also helped raise nearly $35,000 in Williams for cancer research.
He would probably best like to be remembered for the handicap program he established with the mules in the Canyon. His work with Make A Wish Foundation and several other organizations for the handicapped as well as many individuals gives him the most pleasure. For this work he received the North American Mule Association Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000 and other awards from the Handicapped Association of the North American Horseman Association.
For the past 10 years, children of the community have benefited from his knowledge as a Sunday School teacher for the Baptist Church. And, as if helping people is not enough, Ron is the resident small animal vet and many of the community’s pets have been recipients of his caring services.
Edwin "Eddie" D. McKee is remembered primarily for his scholarly contributions to biology and geology studies in the Grand Canyon. Most of his contemporaries are no longer with us but the memory of his community service lingers on. Eddie became the park naturalist in 1929, and he and his wife Barbara became active members of the community from the moment they arrived.
Eddie lent his time and efforts to projects and people in the Village (such as building the Community Building) and through his church and other organizations. Always willing to lend a hand through time and money, he could be counted on to support community efforts and the needy when his backcountry duties and studies allowed. Fund raisers and programs at the Community Building almost always included Eddie.
Before moving on to positions in higher education, Eddie left his mark on the Grand Canyon community as someone who not only dearly loved the Canyon but as a caring and more than willing supporter of the residents and those in need.
We are deeply indebted to folks like Ron and Eddie for helping to make the Grand Canyon community a better place in which to live and work.