Tuesday, December 20, 2011

John Pagano Named “Employee of the Year” by Chesterfield County Department of Parks and Recreation

On December 16, John Daniel Pagano, historical interpretation supervisor at Henricus Historical Park, was named "Employee of the Year" for 2011 by the Chesterfield County Department of Parks and Recreation. Pagano was nominated by Charles Lewis Grant, acting executive director of the living history museum. Grant selected Pagano for his instrumental efforts in helping the counties of Chesterfield and Henrico with the 400th anniversary of the Citie of Henricus. Pagano designed, choreographed, recruited and implemented special programs to highlight the unique "firsts" that occurred at Henricus. Four of the events were new and Pagano developed innovative ways to present these topics to the public. He single-handedly recruited 125 historical interpreters for the site's 400th commemoration during Publick Days in September. Throughout the year, Pagano represented Henricus in dozens of media interviews and at various public appearances. He became the historical interpretation supervisor at Henricus Historical Park in 2007. Pagano is a trained special education teacher and has worked as an actor and historical consultant on hundreds of films.

Friday, December 2, 2011

Henricus Militia Commander Receives Community Leadership Award

This month, Woodmen of the World Richmond/ Chesterfield Lodge 159 presented Dennis Strawderman with a Community Leadership Award. Charles Lewis Grant, acting executive director of Henricus Historical Park, was at the presentation to highlight Strawderman's exceptional civic service on behalf of the museum. A former Marine, Strawderman commands the all-volunteer Henricus Militia and often portrays Sir Thomas Dale who founded Henricus as a military fort in 1611. Militia service was compulsory for all free males capable of bearing arms in the colony. Today, the 23-member Henricus Militia offers infantry, artillery and colonial river commerce demonstrations for Henricus Historical Park and the surrounding community. To learn more about the Henricus Militia visit http://www.henricusmilitia.com/. Since 1952, Woodmen of the World lodges have expressed gratitude to outstanding citizens of the community - those who have gone the extra mile in civic service and community betterment efforts. Nationally, Woodmen of the World Life Insurance Society is the largest fraternal benefit society with open membership in the United States (http://www.woodmen.org/).