Evelyn Lawrence (far right) received several national awards, including The President’s Volunteer Service Award, during Marion’s annual 2011 Arbor Day celebration for her work in telling the story of  Sallie’s Crying Tree, where Lawrence’s grandmother wept for her family as an enslaved six-year-old. Professor Emeritus Jeffrey Kirwan (far left), who included the tree in his Remarkable Trees of Virginia book, was named an honorary Marion Tree Commission member and presented the Marion community with its ninth Tree City USA honor.