Recently, Fritz Holt was wondering, “What ever happened to the Preston McMichael Caving Award?” Fritz, the award is given at the discretion of the TSA Executive Committee or a committee appointed by the TSA Chairman. The subject arises occasionally when TSA leaders are mindful of their responsibilities and opportunities.
Here's the short history of the award: “At the TSA Members Meeting held at the 2003 TCR, the membership decided to reinstate the Preston McMichael Award. The Preston McMichael Award was established in 1969 at the 19 April TSA BOG meeting at Southwest Texas State University, in honor and recognition of the passing of Preston McMichael. Preston was an excellent example of a caver who pioneered caving in a new area of the state and carefully cultivated cave owner relations at the same time. Preston’s caving activities began in the late 1950s and ended with his untimely death in January 1967. He was a talented artist and musician and had a great future ahead of him in many ways. We were diminished as a result of his loss but may continue to profit from his example." James Reddell was the first recipient of the award in October 1969. The second recipient was Carl Kunath and the staff of the Texas Caver in October 1970. It was awarded sporadically throughout the 1970s and faded from collective memory in the early 1980s. As currently defined, the Preston McMichael Award: “shall be awarded annually by the Texas Speleological Association in recognition of meritorious contribution to Texas caving. The award shall consist of $50.00 as well as recognition at a TSA function and in a TSA publication. If the recipient is not a current member of the TSA, honorary membership may be awarded. The award may be retroactive. Choice of awardees shall be made by the Executive Committee or a committee appointed by the TSA chairman.” Despite the operative phrase "shall be awarded annually" it doesn't happen very often. If you know of someone that has made a lasting and significant contribution to Texas caving and has not already received the award, please send your nomination to the TSA Chairman. ===Carl Kunath From: Fritz Holt via Texascavers Sent: Tuesday, September 02, 2014 5:12 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Texascavers] a road-trip story Yes, unfortunately, my old friend and caving buddy, Preston McMichael has been dead for a number of years. What ever happened to the Preston McMichael Caving Award? It was resurrected a few years ago but I haven't heard of it in recent years. Preston was quite a guy and the most gung-ho caver I ever knew. Fritz Holt [email protected] (Triple Creek Ranch)
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