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TO RECOGNIZE AND HONOR DOT JACKSON, OF PICKENS COUNTY, FOR BEING NAMED WINNER OF THE APPALACHIAN STUDIES ASSOCIATION'S 2007 WEATHERFORD AWARD FOR HER NOVEL, REFUGE.
Whereas, the General Assembly is pleased to note that Dot Jackson, of Pickens County, has been named winner of the Appalachian Studies Association's 2007 Weatherford Award for her novel, Refuge; and
Whereas, awarded annually to honor published works that "best illuminate the challenges, personalities, and unique qualities of the Appalachian South," the Weatherford Award is granted in two categories, nonfiction and fiction/poetry, Ms. Jackson's being the award for fiction; and
Whereas, during her long career as a journalist, Dot Jackson worked as an investigative reporter and columnist for The Charlotte Observer, where she was named National Conservation Writer of the Year and was nominated for several Pulitzer Prizes; and
Whereas, as part of her unfailing efforts to celebrate and preserve the culture of the Appalachian region, she is co-founder and manager of the Birchwood Center for Arts and Folklife in Pickens County and has published several nonfiction works, among them Keowee: The Story of the Keowee River Valley in Upstate South Carolina, written with collaborator Mike Hembree; and
Whereas, she penned Refuge, her first novel, thirty years ago while working as a journalist, stowing her yellowing manuscript under a bed and later in a mentor's refrigerator for preservation, until Novello Festival Press published it in April 2006; and
Whereas, Ms. Jackson was formally presented with the Weatherford Award at the Appalachian Studies Association Awards Ceremony, sponsored by the association and Kentucky's Berea College, on Sunday, March 25, 2007, at Maryville College, Tennessee, the brunch event being part of the Appalachian Studies Association's annual conference; and
Whereas, this honor is a fitting tribute to an exemplary journalist and author with a high dedication to her calling equaling the eminence of the award, and the General Assembly takes great pleasure in recognizing Dot Jackson as its 2007 recipient. Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring:
That the members of the South Carolina General Assembly, by this resolution, recognize and honor Dot Jackson, of Pickens County, for being named winner of the Appalachian Studies Association's 2007 Weatherford Award for her novel, Refuge.
Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to Dot Jackson.
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