The NC Fossil Club’s Chandler Award is given to a club member for their significant educational contributions to the Club, or for aiding the Club’s educational pursuits. Trish Kohler nominated Diane Willis to receive the 2026 Chandler Award for her significant contributions to the club for many year. She was presented with the 2026 Chandler Award at the March 15, 2026 meeting.
NCFC Chandler Award
Members and/or non-members may be given The Chandler Award for their significant educational contributions to the club, or for aiding the club’s educational pursuits. This award honors Richard Chandler, who as Editor led club members and non-members in developing a series of printed and digital publications covering fossils found in North Carolina. Honorees are selected by a majority vote of the Board of Directors
It’s been quite a number of years since the Chandler Award was given. This year the long overdue recipient is Diane Willis.
Diane joined the North Carolina Fossil Club in 2001 and has been on the Board since 2006. In those 20 years of outreach and leadership, Diane has served on the Nominating Committee and the Website Committee, and also helped update the Club’s Bylaws and Rules. She was one of the technical editors for our small Field Guides, and also shared many of her fossils for photographs in our large volumes of the Fossils of North Carolina.
Diane was President of our club for 3 years, serving from her election in November 2017 through November of 2020, and then the Immediate Past President in 2021. She has been the Secretary of the North Carolina Fossil Club since 2022, going on 5 years now.
For over 20 years, Diane has been an active outreach volunteer at numerous schools and museums. She would often be the first one to respond to requests for various “science nights” or for exhibits needed at the many grammar schools and junior high schools in Chapel Hill and Durham and other areas. She is also a regular exhibitor at the NC Fossil Festival in Aurora and at our annual North Carolina Fossil Fairs held at various museums throughout the state.
With her advanced degrees in geology, she would often have exhibits focusing on the various changes in the earth along with the track-ways and prints left behind as fossils of long dead creatures and plants.
Diane goes on many of the club’s fossil trips and has helped lead several out-of-state trips sharing her knowledge of the geology and the fossils found there. (She has also helped out with refreshments and food at many meetings and other events and is well known for sharing her delicious Almond Skillet Cake!)
Diane truly has a heart for the club’s purpose and for the people in it. She is a perfect example of a NCFC member who has all of the qualifications for receiving the Chandler Award.