The Jay C. Hormel has for several decades commended multiple conservationists and volunteers, and it will once again do so at its annual friends and volunteers appreciation night.

The ceremony starts 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Nature Center.

This year, the Nature Center will nominate two people: one for the Sigurd Olson Leadership Award and the other for the Volunteer of the Year Award. Larry Dolphin, Nature Center director, will announce the recipients that evening.

Dolphin said Sigurd Olson was a conservationist on both the state and national level, and Olson was once quoted as saying, “Without the love of the land, conservation lacks meaning or purpose. For only in a deep and inherent feeling of the land can there be dedication to preserve it.”

So one person who has shown dedication to conservation and an understanding of what it means will receive that award.

One person who has volunteered at the Nature Center throughout the last year or even longer will receive the volunteer of the year award.

During the ceremony, Dolphin will also give his presentation of the spirit of the earth while he is dressed in costume as Terra Loam — a depiction of the Earth’s cross section of soils and plant life.

Guests are urged to RSVP at 507-437-7519 by Tuesday if they are going to attend the event.