The Mosby Heritage Area Association has selected four individuals to receive the organization's annual Heritage Hero Awards, given to individuals or groups that have contributed significantly to the preservation and conservation of the natural and cultural resources in this area.

The awards ceremony will be held on Tuesday, December 10, 2013, at 6:30 p.m. at the National Sporting Library and Museum at 102 The Plains Road in Middleburg, Virginia.

This event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.

The 2013 Heritage Hero Award recipients are:

Mitch Diamond is a retired businessman who lives with his wife Lucy and several dogs, horses and cows on a historic farm in the beautiful village of Unison. He is an active preservationist, having been a key member of the team that identified and researched the previously little known Battle of Unison, and helped get its pristine 8000 acre battlefield officially named to the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places. He is a member of the Loudoun County Heritage Commission, on the board of the Unison Preservation Society and an active participant in the Loudoun County Preservation and Conservation Coalition.

John Fishback has always had an interest in history so he became familiar with the Court House records when he began doing family genealogy in the early 1980's. After running a furniture restoration business for several years he obtained a microfilming position in the Office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court in 1988. Over the years he has held several positions including clerking for the Judges, as part of the Courtroom staff, and as supervisor of the Civil Division. In 2004 when the present Clerk, Mr. Gary Clemens, created the Archives Department John became the Historic Records Manager for the Clerk's Office. He oversees the organization and conservation of the County and Court records dating back to 1757, such as the books that contain Wills, Deeds and Marriage Records and the "loose" papers that were filed in support of the books and Civil and Criminal cases.

Mary Fishback enjoyed a nursing career from 1974-2000. During that time, she also began using the Thomas Balch Library for genealogy and in 1974, started the Loudoun Genealogy Club. In the early 1990s, Mary helped put together the Thomas Balch Cemetery Committee. Mary had a weekly by-line for ten years in the Loudoun Times Mirror, Loudoun's Legacy. She became an employee of Thomas Balch Library in 2000, earning a certification in Genealogical Studies from the University of Toronto, Canada. She received the Loudoun History Award from the Thomas Balch Library for her efforts to keep it a viable history and genealogy library and the Thomas Balch Commission Honor Award for 25 years of service to the historical community. She volunteers with the Marshall House, Journey through Hallowed Ground, Loudoun Library Foundation, and the Loudoun County Civil War Roundtable. She has also volunteered with the Friends of Thomas Balch Library, Loudoun Museum, Waterford Fair, and Leesburg Homes & Garden Tours. She has written five books for Arcadia Publishing on Images of America, Loudoun County.

Robert Lee served as County Administrator in Clarke County and helped the county develop a unique sliding scale zoning in the 1980's. Following his success in Clarke County, Bob moved to neighboring Fauquier County where he also played a critical role in the development of comprehensive plans and rural zoning that have helped to protect Fauquier. Under his leadership as County Administrator, Fauquier adopted a Purchase of Development Rights (PDR) program that has today protected nearly 10,000 acres of farm land—the most successful PDR program in Virginia! As a finale to his public service career Bob assumed the position of Executive Director of the Virginia Outdoors Foundation (VOF) the largest land trust in America. VOF holds conservation easements on 677,000 acres of land in the Commonwealth with a huge increase on easement donations during the ten years that Bob was the Executive Director.

Previous winners of the Heritage Hero Award, including Senator John Warner, Karen Hughes White, Janet Whitehouse, Hope Porter, Linda Newton, Robert H. Smith, Su Webb, Lori Kimball, Bob Sinclair, and Walter Nicklin.

The mission of the non-profit Mosby Heritage Area Association, formed in 1995, is to help preserve the Northern Virginia Piedmont and increase public knowledge about this historic area. MHAA provides classroom history programs for 4th and 11th grade Virginia students, sponsors lectures, programs and field trips, and brings nationally known scholars to the area for its award-winning annual Civil War Conference. For more information, visit www.mosbyheritagearea.org.