The Marion Mack Johnson Civic Leadership Award honors civic-minded leaders –perhaps it was inevitable it would eventually be awarded to the man so Jaffrey-minded, the town name is his vanity plate.
Stephenson will be presented the award in a ceremony Thursday at the Civic Center.
There are few civic committees in Jaffrey that Robert Stephenson hasn’t been part of at one point or another – and if a committee even somewhat relates to Jaffrey history or preservation, then Stephenson was almost certainly involved. When the Civic Center began considering nominations for this year’s award, Stephenson was the obvious choice, Bernie Hampsey, the president of the center’s board of trustees said.
“He was the unanimous choice. No other name even came up. We felt it was long overdue,” Hampsey said.
Stephenson has been involved with the Jaffrey Historical Society, the Meetinghouse Committee, is a Cemetery Trustee, Village Improvement Society, the Amos Fortune Forum lecture series, Jaffrey Historic District Commission, Jaffrey Historic Preservation Conclave and the Chamber of Commerce – and that’s not a complete list.
“He devotes so much of his time to Jaffrey history and preservation,” said Bruce Hill, president of the Jaffrey Historical Society.
Stephenson isn’t a Jaffrey native — having moved into the area in 1977 — but his heart resides here, Hampsey said.
“He just accepted Jaffrey as his town, hook, line and sinker since he arrived in 1966. He embraced this town — not just superficially, but in a really in-depth way,” Hampsey said.
There’s not much Stephenson doesn’t know about Jaffrey history – he literally wrote the books on the subject. He co-authored “Jaffrey Then and Now: Changes in Community Character” with Catherine Seiberling on behalf of the Jaffrey Historic District Commission, and “Marshal the Willing Forces”, a history of Jaffrey Center. He’s also written the brochures for the walking tours of the town’s center, downtown, and the “Welcome to Jaffrey” brochure for the Historical Society.
“He’s remarkably organized and utterly devoted to all things that relate to Jaffrey history and maintaining the historic value of its buildings and grounds,” Hill said.
This year’s award ceremony is scheduled to be held on Thursday from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Jaffrey Civic Center. The public is invited to attend. There will be refreshments available.
Editor’s note: The award ceremony date in this story has been corrected. The ceremony is planned for Thursday, Oct. 3.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.