MONCKS CORNER, S.C. – The National Park Service is recognizing a 6-year-old Moncks Corner girl for her service and stewardship to Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park.
Rangers at Fort Moultrie nominated Hannah Murray for the 2022 George and Helen Hartzog Award for outstanding volunteer work. She is one of the youngest recipients to ever be nominated and is the only nominee from the NPS’ Southeast region to win the award.
Hannah will officially be honored for her volunteer work at the National Park Service Awards Ceremony on Aug. 23, 2023.
“We were warned to not expect her to win. However, win she did,” said proud mom, Elizabeth Murray.
Elizabeth told “The Berkeley Observer” that her daughter has been an avid volunteer at the National Parks Service since July of last year. About once or twice a month, her daughter helps the park rangers with weeding and preserving the historic parade grounds and powder magazines at Fort Moultrie.
“This is a difficult task as it must be done by hand and can be compounded when experiencing the summer heat. Hannah continually visits the Fort to help staff complete this necessary work,” the National Parks Service said in a news release. “This is a never-ending battle that she looks forward to tackling and she often looks to recruit other children to help her.”
Hannah is a Cub Scout who not only loves working to improve the Fort but serves as an ambassador to the park as well, talking with others her age to come experience the park. She comes to the park often to participate in events like National Public Lands Day and Park Day to volunteer and give back, improving the historic landscape at the Fort’s grounds.
For her birthday last year, Hannah elected to come to Fort Moultrie to weed the parade ground with staff. The Cub Scouts organization recognized Hannah as Cub Scout of the Year in 2022 because of her efforts in recruiting new youth volunteers to the park and encouraging others to learn about their local history.
Hannah will celebrate her seventh birthday this Saturday.
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