Awards and positions held by LaVern Johnson
LaVern (McConnell) Johnson
Offices Held in Town of Lyons
Town of Lyons, Parks & Recreation Commission, 1973 to present
Town of Lyons Board of Trustee, six 2-year terms (13 years total) 1999-2014
Town of Lyons, Good Old Days Committee, 1976 to present
and
Town of Lyons, Rename Meadow Park to LaVern M Johnson Park, 2016
History Preservation Awards and Offices
Square Nail, Historic Boulder & Boulder Heritage Roundtable (BHR) 2002
Preservationist of the Year 2009, Historic Boulder
Award of Merit, Historic Preservation, Historic Boulder, 2005
Special Project Award, Preservation of Historic Redstone Museum, Boulder Heritage Roundtable, 2010
Colorado Preservation (CPI) State Honor Award, 2000
Historical Preservation Advocate Award, State of Colorado 2000
Lifetime Achievement in History Preservation, 40 years, 2015, Lyons Redstone Museum
Lyons Historical Society, president 1976 to present
Lyons Redstone Museum, director 1979 to present
Service Awards
SCFD Rex Morgan, recognize volunteer leaders, 2008, Boulder
Boulder Chamber, Outstanding Women Business and Community Leaders: Women Who Light the Community, 2016
9Who Care, Channel 9, 1982
Citizen Award, National Park Service, Rocky Mt Region
Pacesetter Award, Community Service, Daily Camera, 1993
Stan Black Award for Charitable Community Service, Community Foundation Serving Boulder County, 2001
Certificate of Appreciation, numerous awards, Town of Lyons
Other Positions Held in Lyons
Column Reporter, “About Town,” Lyons Recorder newspaper, 1983 to present
Lyons Red Rock Ramblers, co-founder (with husband) of Square Dance group, 1958 to present
Campaigns
Dam Concerned Citizens, Stop Coffintop Dam 1980s
Save Our Schools 1970s
Preservation of Meadow Park & Expansion of Parks
Advocate Housing (Stop housing on toxic dumps; affordable housing)
Advocate for Dog Park
Advocate for Prevention of Marijuana and Alcohol near Schools
(the campaigns are not associated with a formal group,
like Lyons Historical Society or Town of Lyons)
DEDICATION OF PARK (“reprint”)
The old Meadow Park in Lyons is gone, as we knew it. It was flooded and turned into a field of boulders during the 2013 flood. After four years of renovation, the final step in re-opening and dedicating the newly named LaVern M Johnson Park is taking place June 24, 2017 at 11 a.m. during Lyons Good Old Days.
In May 2016, the Lyons Board of Trustees passed a resolution to rename Meadow Park to LaVern M Johnson Park, in honor of LaVern’s 50 years of service to the Lyons Parks. It was followed with an opening ceremony in the park in September 2016 for the local residents, on the anniversary of the Great Flood of 2013 that devastated the town and its parks.
A public dedication is taking place on Saturday, June 24, with local government officials speaking, along with state Representative Jonathan Singer. The State of Colorado’s Starburst Award will be given for the excellent renovation of the park and its extensive activity facilities; $1.1 million GOCO funds were used for the rebuilding. It took community input, volunteer work, and multiple grants totaling nearly $7 million to complete the park. The public is welcome to attend. It is followed by cake and an exhibition square dance. (by Kathleen Spring, June 2017, Lyons Recorder)
NOTE: LaVern Johnson has put together an extensive booklet that summarizes the development and usage of Meadow Park from its earliest days. It is available at the Redstone Museum $10.
