The Board of Managers and Regents of the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society has announced that it has selected Wayne D. Wisbaum, and brothers Christopher T. and Finley R. Greene, as recipients of its annual Red Jacket award. Wisbaum is an an attorney and devoted public servant, as is Christopher Greene.
The late Finley Greene was a fundraising professional who aided many non-profit causes and organizations over the course of his decades-long career. The board will present the awards at a dinner and ceremony at the Historical Society on Thursday, Nov. 18 at 6 p.m.
The Red Jacket Award is given annually in recognition of quiet, continued, unbroken devotion to civic progress. Created 53 years ago, in 1957, by the Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society, the award is based upon a medal presented in 1792 by President George Washington to the renowned Seneca orator and leader Red Jacket.
“The selection of these three men to receive this award carries special significance, as we are living in a time when civic progress is needed more than ever. They and their work stand for the powerful effects that individuals can have in their communities, without drawing attention to themselves or asking for anything in return,” said Joan Bukowski, president of the board of managers of the Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society. “It is a great privilege to honor these three Buffalonians.”
During the ceremony, the board will bestow two additional awards. Charles LaChiusa will receive the Owen B. Augspurger award, which recognizes local historians devoted to the preservation of Erie County’s heritage. And the Grant Amherst Business Association will receive the Daniel B. Niederlander award for outstanding programming by a Western New York historical organization.
The Historical Society currently has on exhibit the original Peace Medal that was given to Red Jacket by George Washington, in its new and ongoing exhibit, “Fact, Fiction & Spectacle: The Trial of Red Jacket.”
The 2010 Red Jacket Awards dinner will be held at the Historical Society at 25 Nottingham Court at Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo. Tickets are $150 per person or $275 per couple. Table packages and corporate sponsorship opportunities are available. For reservations and more information, call the Historical Society development office at 716-873-9644, ext. 318.
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