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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary


For Immediate Release April 22, 1998
                      President Clinton Presents 
                     The Ranger Of The Year Award

                      Diplomatic Reception Room, 
                            The White House

                             April 22, 1998

Today, as part of National Park Week, President Clinton presented the Harry M. Yount Ranger of the Year Award to this year's recipient, Mike Anderson from Cape Hatteras National Seashore, North Carolina.

The Harry Yount Award is sponsored by the National Park Foundation through a grant from the Eureka Company. The award derives its name from Harry Yount, a gamekeeper at Yellowstone in the 1880s, considered by many the "first" park ranger. Award recipients receive an original sculptured bust of Harry Yount and a cash honorarium.

The Harry Yount National Park Ranger Award is a peer award that represents the hallmark of recognition for "rangering." The intent of the award is to honor rangers who are in the middle of their career and have consistently gone out everyday and performed the traditional, general ranger duties of protecting park resources and serving the visitor.

The Harry Yount Award was first presented by the President and Mrs. Clinton in 1994, in a ceremony at the White House. Last year, President Clinton presented this prestigious award to Glacier Bay National Park Superintendent James Brady in an Oval Office ceremony.

This year's recipient, Mike Anderson, is the Bodie Island District Manager at Cape Hatteras National Seashore in North Carolina. In his 19 years in the National Park Service, Mr. Anderson has had experience in just about every type of job that the National Park Service has to offer, including planning programs, guiding tours, fighting fires, managing endangered species habitats and supervising law enforcement operations. In 1990, he won the Departmental Award for Valor for placing his life at risk while rescuing five drowning people from a dangerous ocean rip current.

In the last five years, Mr. Anderson has distinguished himself in his role as the primary community and interagency liaison for Cape Hatteras National Seashore. He has worked to forge new partnerships between the Park Service and the private sector and has personally negotiated cooperative agreements with several local North Carolina communities. His efforts have earned him the respect of the many different citizens and groups associated with Cape Hatteras. Although originally trained as a marine biologist, he exercises considerable influence on all of the Park's programs. At the ceremony, he will be joined by his wife, Gale, and two sons, Richard and Michael.

The event was also attended by Bruce Babbitt, Secretary of the Interior; Robert Stanton, National Park Service Director; Donald Berry, Acting Assistant Secretary of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Department of the Interior; Jerry Belson, National Park Service Southeast Regional Director; Bob Reynolds, Superintendent of Cape Hatteras National Seashore; Jim Maddy, President of the National Park Foundation; and Bruce Gold, Executive Vice President of the Eureka Company.

A White House official photo will be released from the event.

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