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partner Marty Conley with the Lawrence County Convention and Visitors Bureau was recognized with an Outstanding Community Partner Award at the second annual Community Engagement Symposium on Friday, Sept. 29, at the ºÚÁÏ³Ô¹Ï Inn in Athens.

The Center for Campus and Community Engagement hosted the symposium featuring ºÚÁϳԹÏ’s inaugural awards ceremony recognizing the Community Partner Award Winners, the recipients of the Sugar Bush Foundation’s partnership awards and the winner of the Ohio Campus Compact’s Ping Community Service Award. The event also included professional development opportunities for ºÚÁÏ³Ô¹Ï staff, faculty and community organizations through interactive workshops and networking opportunities.

Conley, who is the the director of the and also is a 2019 graduate of ºÚÁϳԹÏ, accepted the award at the Community Engagement Symposium.

The community partnership between ºÚÁÏ³Ô¹Ï and the Lawrence County Convention and Visitors Bureau, along with nearly 20 other partners throughout the region, aims to diversify cultural heritage tourism in the region and state. Part of this includes marking historic spots across nine counties with the help of external funding from Appalachian Regional Commission’s POWER Initiative. Through this partnership, one site in the region, Macedonia Baptist Church, has already been added to the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom.