To recognize Arizonans dedicated to preserving state history, the Arizona Historical Foundation, the state historian and Westin Kierland Resort & Spa in Scottsdale created the annual Arizona Culturekeeper award.

To recognize Arizonans dedicated to preserving state history, the Arizona Historical Foundation, the state historian and Westin Kierland Resort & Spa in Scottsdale created the annual Arizona Culturekeeper award.

Sedona’s own Janeen Trevillyan, a historian with the Sedona Historical Society, was among nine individuals and one organization selected to receive the award this year and she will be one of less than 100 Arizonans overall to receive the award before it’s laid to rest at the state centennial in 2012.

Marshall Trimble, Arizona’s state historian, made the award presentations personal and meaningful, according to Trevillyan, but she admits she felt like tiptoeing through the room during the ceremony. It was filled with many of Arizona’s most seasoned historians.

Trevillyan is new to the trade, she admitted, but she’s made up for lost time. The 60-hour work weeks which are typical of her life as an historian may be more consuming than the long hours she dedicated to her career before retiring in 1999, she said.

According to Trevillyan, no one from the SHS warned her of her nomination for the award, so naturally, she was surprised to find out she’d won.

In any case, the accolades aren’t the reason she does what she does, she assured.

“You get involved because you love, because you care,” Trevillyan said. “Any awards that I’ve gotten since I started doing stuff here have been a total surprise.”

Well, maybe for her.

Ron Maassen, president of the Sedona Historical Society, was among those who prepared Trevillyan’s nomination, and according to him, it was pretty much a no-brainer.

“She’s a tireless worker for the cause of history and culture,” Maassen said. She works more than most people with full-time careers and she’s only a volunteer. If there’s anybody around who deserves the award, it’s Trevillyan.

Since Trevillyan joined the Sedona Historical Society, the Jordan Park museum earned official recognition from the state historical society, qualifying it for certain grants — one of which was used to restore and stabilize the old tractor shed at Jordan Park. Overall, Trevillyan is happy with the many efforts made to set Jordan Park aside for historic preservation, she said.

“You can lose your town and sense of place pretty quickly when there’s a lot of heavy, intense development pressure,” Trevillyan explained.

Sedona’s red rocks will always provide a unique backdrop, but “we could easily start looking like any other town if we’re not careful,” she cautioned.

The Historic Preservation Commission, which Trevillyan also serves on, fulfills somewhat of a city planning role, according to Trevillyan. As a liaison between the commission and the Sedona Main Street Program, she offers city development input from a historical perspective.

The commission also encourages people with historic homes to submit preservation grant applications. Since Trevillyan joined in 1999, historic landmarks designations have more than doubled, she said.

Trevillyan also reaches out to other area museum and state park volunteers, and brings them together once a year for opportunities to receive training in things like oral history, exhibit presentation and other things — all for nothing more than the cost of lunch, she said.

At the moment, the Sedona Historical Society is also working on developing a computer database on which to upload the museum’s immense catalogue of photographs and eventually make them available on the internet, Trevillyan said.

Once Sedona’s history is available on the internet, it will continue to spread and become more and more accessible to future generations.

It’s not just about what Trevillyan’s done already, a woman at the awards ceremony told her. It’s about what she’s doing right now and what the payoffs will be in the future.

Trevillyan’s efforts to preserve the history of Sedona and maintain structures that might otherwise be left to decay and disappear will not go unnoticed by future Sedonans, whether they realize who’s responsible or not.

Trevillyan seems poised to leave a lasting impression on how Sedona will be viewed by future generations, and indeed, some of Arizona’s most esteemed historians have already take notice.

Tyler Midkiff can be reached at 282-7795, Ext. 122, or e-mail to tmidkiff@larsonnewspapers.com.