It was mostly smiles and rounds of applause at the City of Austin Volunteer Appreciation Night, held at the Ruby Rupner Auditorium on the grounds of the Jay C. Hormel Nature Center Thursday.

Even the barred owl “Guka” was in attendance to spread its wings on occasion.

Nature center staff honored five volunteers, including a husband and wife team, while library officials recognized two volunteers.

“For nearly 40 years, the Jay C. Hormel Nature Center and the people of Austin have been well served by volunteers,” said Larry Dolphin, director and naturalist for the nature center.

“Volunteers have provided the ‘people power’ to allow us to do major programs such as the bird festival, the energy festival, eco-blitz, Halloween warm-up and Thanksgiving feast.”

Dolphin handed out four Sigurd Olson Leadership awards, named for the long-time Minnesota wilderness advocate who died in 1982.

The awards were presented to Terry Dorsey, a charter member of the Austin Audubon and long-time supporter of the nature center; Dick Waldman, a retired food scientist for the Hormel Company who is nearing the completion of his six-year term on the Friends of the Nature Center board; and Bob and Sue Maus.

Bob Maus started and completed the written documentation to establish the Friends of the Jay. C Hormel Nature Center in 1988 and 1989, while Sue was appointed as one of the first friends board members.

Most of the evening’s recipients said a simple “thank you,” although Bob Maus added a little bit more.

“It’s a great organization,” he said. “The nature center is fantastic.”

Award winners received a plaque and a bottle of maple syrup.

That included Helen Dixon, who was chosen as the Volunteer of the Year and who has spent the past decade volunteering for the nature center.

“I’m thrilled and surprised,” she said, sporting a nature center T-shirt. “I didn’t expect it at all.”

The evening didn’t stop there.

Austin Library Director Ann Hokanson honored two library volunteers. Ellen Stark and Kathy Philipp were named Volunteers of the Year for their contributions to the library and received a plaque for their efforts.

“They’re critical,” Hokanson said about the importance of volunteers such as Stark and Philipp. “We’re circulating 1,000 items a day. We’re adding items and we’re doing programs, and the volunteers free up a lot of time so we can get these things done.”