Will Rogers Memorial Museum volunteers during the recent holidays are, from left, Sara Wright, Darcy Roach and Jordan Brewer, who attend Rogers State University. Standing, from left, are Amanda Nadal, University of Oklahoma; Evie Rader, Connors State College; and Greg Sanders, University of Arkansas. COURTESY PHOTO
By STAFF REPORTS

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Cherokee Nation scholarship recipients recently volunteered at the Will Rogers Memorial Museum to fulfill community service requirements.

Students are required to volunteer one hour of service to the Cherokee Nation or non-profit entity for every $100 they receive in scholarship funding.

Since that requirement was placed on scholarship students, hundreds of Rogers County students completed more than 1,200 volunteer hours at the Will Rogers Memorial in many capacities.

Julie Luna, museum special events coordinator and store manager, said the volunteers have been invaluable in many ways. Most recently they worked on the store’s inventory, which is usually a long and tedious process for store workers who must sandwich inventory between sales, she said.

Working under the leadership of Museum Director Steve Gragert and various department supervisors, Cherokee students have also helped out with cleaning, filing, organizing, transcribing files, cataloging photos and materials for the archives and gardening and landscaping.

Cherokee students also helped with the fall cleanup at the Rogers County Cherokee Association headquarters and meeting hall near Tiawah.