BURSON, CA – January 14, 2015 - The Society for the Preservation of West Calaveras History (SPWCH) has presented Calaveras County Archivist Shannon Dixon Van Zant with its 2015 Richard Taylor Pioneer Award.  Honoring individuals who have contributed to the preservation of local history, this year’s award noted Van Zant’s “invaluable assistance as County Archivist and for her support for West Calaveras history.”  She has been County Archivist since 2004.  The original Pioneer Award was presented in 2008 to Tom Duke and was reinstituted in 2013 in tribute to Taylor, the late founding director of the SPWCH (westcalaverashistory.org).  The other honorees have been Mervyn Kirk (2013) and David Earl Evans Jr. (2014).