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Former astronaut awarded state's highest honor |
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January 9, 2017 |
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Barbara
Morgan |
Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter today presented the
highest civilian honor the State of Idaho
bestows to Idaho educator and former astronaut
Barbara Morgan.
Morgan received the Idaho Medal of Achievement
at the conclusion of Governor Otter’s State of
the State address before a joint session of the
Idaho Legislature. Also in attendance were State
elected officials, Idaho Supreme Court justices
and Idaho Court of Appeals judges.
“It is a great honor to live and work with the
people of Idaho. This beautiful award gives me
the opportunity to thank everyone,” Morgan said.
“I want especially to thank the Idaho Medal of
Achievement commissioners, our Idaho Governor
Butch Otter, and the school teachers of Idaho,
who are my inspiration.”
The Idaho Medal of Achievement was created by
executive order in November 2015 to recognize
individual Idahoans for their “exceptional,
meritorious, and inspirational” service to the
people of Idaho.
“It is uniquely fitting that the first recipient
of Idaho’s highest civilian honor goes to a
pioneering educator who brought the promise of
space flight to our students from a classroom
above the clouds,” Governor Otter said. “Her
career as an educator and then an astronaut has
inspired a generation of young people not only
about the importance of science but how high you
can go when you aspire to do great things.”
Morgan spent 24 years as an elementary school
teacher and was the back-up to Christa
McAuliffe, who was to be America’s first teacher
in space. Following McAuliffe’s death in the
1986 Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, Morgan
became the first teacher-astronaut to travel to
space aboard the shuttle Endeavor in 2007. Since
then, in addition to her work with NASA Morgan
has provided vision and leadership for Idaho
K-12 STEM teachers and now is a distinguished
teacher in residence at Boise State University.
The four-member Idaho Medal of Achievement
Commission unanimously included Morgan as one of
the top three candidates submitted to Governor
Otter for his final consideration.
“We were highly impressed by the caliber of the
candidates, which made the commission’s job of
narrowing the field all the more challenging,”
said former Idaho Chief Justice Linda Copple
Trout, who led the Idaho Medal of Achievement
Commission. “However, Barbara’s legacy as an
educator and pioneer in her field made her
candidacy emblematic of what this award was
designed to honor.”
The Idaho Medal of Achievement is awarded
annually to individuals – living or dead – who
are nominated by the public. The Medal of
Achievement Commission will advance the names of
no more than five finalists for the Governor’s
consideration.
The public is encouraged to go to the Governor’s
website or contact the Governor’s Office by mail
to nominate deserving individuals for the 2017
award, which will be presented at the end of the
Governor 2018 State of the State address. The
deadline for nominations for the 2017 award is
March 31st.
Besides Copple Trout, the Medal of Achievement
Commission includes former Idaho Secretary of
State Ben Ysursa, Idaho Business for Education
Chairman Skip Oppenheimer, and Public Employee
Retirement System of Idaho (PERSI) board member
Kirk Sullivan.
Coeur d’Alene-based Hecla Mining Co. provided
the silver for the Idaho Medal of Achievement
and is sponsoring the award.
“Hecla Mining Company is honored to be a part of
this program by providing the silver for the
award recognizing the distinguished recipient of
the first Idaho Medal of Achievement, Barbara
Morgan,” Hecla Chairman and CEO Phillips S.
Baker said. “While it is given to a deserving
individual, it represents the quality of all
Idahoans.”
Each medallion is made of 99.9-percent fine
silver and weighs 19.7 troy ounces and features
a relief carving of the Idaho State Capitol on
the front and the Idaho State Seal on the back. |
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