Chapter Awards

ARTHUR R. LEE  FAS CHAPTER AWARD

This award was developed by the FAS Board of Directors in 1998. It is named for the late Arthur R. Lee (1915-2007), an avocational archaeologist and FAS member, who worked closely with FAS and its chapters and members. He served as an FAS officer, including President in 1992 to 1993, and also as FAS Chapter Liaison and as Chapter Representative for the Southwest Florida Archaeological Society (SWFAS).

Art Lee grew up in Montana and first worked as a professional journalist. After serving in the Navy in World War II, he worked in public relations and then in United States embassies until retiring from the Foreign Service and moving to Naples, Florida, in 1976. In Naples, Art and his wife, Lynn, became active members of SWFAS and FAS.

Art applied his skills to help archaeology in Florida. In 1988, he and SWFAS members established the Craighead archaeological laboratory on the grounds of the Collier County Museum, in Naples. In 1991, he led SWFAS in securing passage of the Collier County Historic Preservation Ordinance, creating an Historic and Archaeological Preservation Board. In 1995, Art was instrumental in starting salvage excavations by Randolph Widmer at the famous Key Marco site, and Art helped organize a successful centenary exhibition of the Pepper-Hearst Expedition to Key Marco, held at the Collier County Museum. For more than a decade, Art and Lynn produced an outstanding monthly chapter newsletter, and Art helped SWFAS in salvage excavation, analysis, and report publication of “doomed” sites, with many results appearing in The Florida Anthropologist (for more information, see an obituary of Art Lee in The Florida Anthropologist, volume 61, nos. 3-4, September-December 2008 issue).

Art conceived the FAS Chapter Award as a way to recognize chapters for their achievements with archaeological and historical sites and organizations. These include: a) recording sites in the Florida Master Site File and/or National Register of Historic Places; b) salvaging information from endangered sites and making it available for research and education; c) outreach programs; d) cooperation with institutions of higher learning and with local, state, and federal organizations; e) supporting preservation of sites through city, county, or state planning; and f) preservation efforts with individuals, corporations, and government agencies.

The recipient is honored with a plaque at the Annual Banquet. The criteria for qualifications and implementation of the FAS Chapter Award are described in the FAS Operating Procedures Manual, which is posted on the FAS website.

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