Never heard of him? Who is he? What did he ever do? These are common questions of members of AEOE. Howard never wrote the "Great Book" on outdoor education, but he could have.
Howard Bell was born October 24, 1907. He completed his undergraduate work at the University of Southern California in 1930 and in September joined the Los Angeles Unified School District as a physical education teacher. He became Supervisor of Youth Services at the Junior High level and in doing so inherited the administration of the Clear Creek Forestry Center, the oldest, continuously operated school camp program in this country.
The Clear Creek Forestry Center was first opened in 1924. A disastrous fire that year led the L.A. Board of Education to lease 240 acres of forest land for use as a reforestation center. Mostly boys from the school district would hike into the area on weekends and spend time potting seeds and planting trees. When Howard received responsibility for this site, building had been added including a lodge, pool, kitchen, dining room, and caretaker's house. The lodge doubled as sleeping area. Howard watched with great interest the development of San Diego's pilot project in Outdoor Education in 1946 and with an even keener interest the development of the Long Beach Unified Schools program at Hi Hill in 1948. He tried to interest the L.A. Education people in Outdoor Education, but failing this, decided to do it himself.
In 1949, Howard was responsible for forming the L.A. County Committee on Outdoor Education. This committee acted as a professional outlet for people in the field and school districts interested in initiating outdoor education programs.
Recognizing that this committee was limited and had served its purpose by 1952, Howard became a driving force for the creation of the Association for Outdoor Education which became a reality in 1954. Howard served the Association in various roles until his death in 1961. The Howard Bell Award was created by action of the Board of Directors of AOE (now AEOE) in 1961, with Howard as the first recipient.
The purpose of the award is to give recognition and pay tribute for outstanding achievements and contributions as a leader in the field of environmental and outdoor education. The award is presented annually at the statewide spring conference by the AEOE Chairperson. It includes an engraved master plaque created for the first award and an engraved plates for each recipient. The award is not delimited to any certain profession, occupation, or service, and the nominee need not necessarily be a member of AEOE. The award is designed primarily for individuals who are still active in their work.
Each member of the Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education has the opportunity to submit to the Executive Board the name of someone whom they feel deserves consideration as a recipient of this award. Nominations are kept on file for three years and may be voted on by the Board as many as three times.
Nominations for the Howard Bell Award should to sent to the state coordinating secretary:
Howard Bell Award
c/o George Stratman, State Coordinating Secretary
13630 Briarwood Lane
Rough and Ready, CA 95975
530-273-0462
A nomination form is published in the winter or early spring issue of the section newsletters. You may also print a form to mail (pdf | html), or use the online form which is emailed to the state coordinating secretary.
You may nominate at any time, but selection occurs in the spring for presentation at the spring conference, so forms must be received by March first for consideration in the current year. Please make your information as complete as possible to assist the Executive Board in making a fair decision.
How do we choose? Sometimes it is very difficult as there have been more than one very deserving nominee in a given year. The strength of the nomination letter is very important! Sometimes timing comes into play, with past awards given to honorees just before retirement, or on a significant landmark year in their lives or careers. The honoree should be planning to attend the conference so they can be presented their award in person. We also like to give the award to someone who would find it most meaningful - it is our highest honor, after all! All of these factors, in addition of course to the accomplishments and contributions of the nominee, may play a part in our decision making process. Help us out by turning in great nominations!
Zayanne Thompson 2008
Pam Ivie, and Kathe Hendrickson 2007
Rick Mitchell, 2006
Jenny and Marty Rigby, 2005
Stephen "Hoppy" Hopkins, 2004
(not awarded 2003)
Carol Schloo Wright & Dan Allison 2002
George Stratman 2001
Bruce Daub 2000
Joseph Cornell 1999
Bernie Lemm 1998
Banana Slug String Band 1997
Greg Schuett 1996
John Hendrickson 1995
Elna Bakker 1994
Jim Hastings 1993
Ben Bird 1992
Ruth Crew 1991
Norris Beakes 1990
Rudy Schafer 1989
Dan Baker 1988
Don Bielefield 1987
Lela Crockett 1987
Pat Crocker 1986
Marty Marcus 1985
George and Louise Donaldson 1984
Shirley Mason 1983
Fred Partridge 1982
Dean Orahood 1982
Leonard Beeman 1981
Oscar Clark 1980
Josephine Duveneck 1979
Ronald Lang 1978
Michael Johnson 1978
Esther Railton 1977
Richard Brians 1976
Elizabeth Sears
Nanette Sullivan 1974
Charlene McDonald 1973
John Kirk 1972
Ernie McDonald 1971
Bill Hammerman 1970
Ed Pumula 1969
Jane Westenberger 1968
Ken Pike 1967
Don Hammerman 1966
Jack Davidson 1965
L.B. Sharp 1964
Elwood Mitchell 1963
J. Holley Ashcraft 1962
Howard Bell 1961