Southeast Ohio Astronomical Society
2007 Astronomy Awards
The Southeast Ohio Astronomical Society and the Ohio University Department of Physics and Astronomy have announced the recipient of the "2007 Friend of the Stars Award". This award is presented annually to local individuals and businesses that have intelligent outdoor lighting. This year the award was presented to Appalachian Behavioral Healthcare- Athens Campus.
In the picture below George Eberts (left) and Joe Shields present award to Mary Brady, hospital manager at Appalachian Behavioral Healthcare.
The building has outdoor lighting that is fully shielded so all of the light is directed down toward the ground where it is needed, and not up into the sky where it isn't.
See following two pictures
The "Friend of the Stars Award" has been presented annually since 2000. Previous recipients have been Taylor Team of Dealerships, the Athens Community Center, O'Bleness Memorial Hospital, Wal-mart, the Athens City Council for their Outdoor Lighting Ordinance, Dr. Joe Shields for being instrumental in writing the ordinance, Abrio's Brick Oven Pizza, and the Village Bakery.
The Southeast Ohio Astronomical Society has presented an additional award this year, the 2007 Astronomy Award. This award is for the community member who has contributed the most in the area of astronomy education and public outreach. On April 21, the award was presented to Mr. Paul Grim. Paul has spoken to literally hundreds of area children about astronomy during the past year. He can frequently be seen at Open Telescope Nights guiding viewers through the wonders of our solar system. Paul grew up in Washington D.C. He attended Johns Hopkins University where he received a BA in Geology. His graduate studies at Columbia University resulted in an MA in Geology. Most of his professional career was with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Paul retired from NOAA (Silver Spring, MD) in 1998 and several years later moved to Athens with his wife, Muriel, where his main interest has been in amateur astronomy. Paul is currently the web master for the Southeast Ohio Astronomical Society (www.athensastronomy.org).