This year the Guild is pleased to present the Lifetime Achievement Award to Randy Schnabel. During nearly 35 years teaching at Shorecrest, Shoreline, and Shorewood High Schools, Randy inspired and educated thousands of young people, encouraging them to apply highest research standards and honing their appreciation of history. Some teenagers hit the classroom primed to understand the significance of the broader past. Randy Schnabel encouraged these kids to dig deep, and taught them to skills to do so. For the many teenagers who did not enter his classroom hungry for history, Randy was an entry point. His dedication, patience, humor, and encouragement helped all, encouraged many, and inspired some to continue the pursuit of history into their professional careers.
Before becoming a teacher, Randy served in the United States Navy and in the Naval Reserve. Since his retirement from teaching, he has chaired the advisory committee for National History Day in Washington State. He coordinates the North Puget Sound Regional History Day competition.
Randy has been the recipient of many awards, including the National History Day in Washington State Distinguished Service Award and the AKCHO Heritage Education Award. He serves on the boards of trustees for the Shoreline Rotary Foundation, Shoreline Breakfast Rotary Club, Historylink.org, and is past president of the AKCHO Board of Trustees. Randy holds a Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Washington and a Bachelor in Arts from the UW.
In recognition of his long career as an educator and encourager of future historians, and of his lifetime efforts to explore and document Northwest history, we present Randy Schnabel with the Pacific Northwest Historian’s Guild Lifetime Achievement Award.