DATE: October 09, 2008
CONTACT:
Brett Wright, 864-656-3036
wright@clemson.edu
WRITER:
Ross Norton, 864-656-4810
rnorton@clemson.edu
Ernest Quintana presented the Robert G. Stanton Award
CLEMSON — The man responsible for the National Park Service in the American Midwest was presented the Robert G. Stanton Award Oct. 8 for sustained achievement in his field.
Ernest Quintana of Omaha was recognized for his leadership at the George B. Hartzog Jr. Environmental Awards luncheon at Clemson University, hosted by the university’s department of parks, recreation and tourism management (PRTM).
The award, named for the 15th director of the National Park Service, is awarded to a person of color who has demonstrated “sustained and innovative achievement in the management of North America’s natural, historic and cultural heritage.”
Quintana, Midwest regional director of the park service for the last five years, oversees 56 park areas in 13 states and supports 21 states in the Land and Water Conservation Fund and Urban Park and Recreation Recovery grant programs. He oversees 1,900 full-time employees and a budget of $135 million.
“I’m honored to receive this award, especially since it’s named for Robert Stanton,” Quintana said. “Someone has to lead the way and Bob Stanton did. He made it easier for me and a lot of others who came after him, and I appreciate that. I would like to extend a thank you to Clemson University and the Hartzog Fund for this honor.”
A decorated Vietnam War veteran, Quintana received the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star, with V device for valor, before joining the park service in 1971 as a park laborer at Joshua Tree National Park in California. He would rise to the superintendent’s position at Joshua Tree and chief ranger at Saguaro National Monument in Arizona and later Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area in California. Before taking over as Midwest regional director in 2003, he served as acting associate director of Resource and Visitor Protection for the park service in Washington, D.C.
Brett Wright, chairman of PRTM at Clemson University, presented the award at the annual program and lecture series named for George Hartzog, director of the National Park Service from 1964-1973. Hartzog died earlier this year and four of the six living park service directors attended the awards program this year to celebrate Hartzog’s life.
The Hartzog Fund at Clemson University allows PRTM to sponsor the Hartzog Lecture Series in Resource Management.
Established in 1966, Clemson’s PRTM is one of the largest and oldest departments of its type in North America. The department has enjoyed a longstanding relationship with the National Park Service and other federal and state land management agencies.
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