Charlie Fitzpatrick Selected as the 2016 George J. Miller Award Recipient for Unwavering Support of Geography Education

Redlands, California — July 6, 2016 — The National Council for Geographic Education ( NCGE) has selected  Esri Education Manager Charlie Fitzpatrick for its 2016  George J. Miller award. NCGE, a nonprofit organization with the mission of enhancing the status and quality of geography teaching and learning, grants the annual award to individuals who have demonstrated a lifetime of distinguished service in geography education. The award ceremony will take placeSaturday, July 30, in Tampa, Florida.

"Charlie has led the geospatial revolution in geography education since the late 1980s as a teacher, teacher consultant, and Esri employee," said Zachary Dulli, NCGE chief executive officer. "He's demonstrated a nearly single-minded dedication to geographic education at all levels, K–20 and beyond. His impact spans national borders."

" NCGE is a community of people pushing night and day to help others fathom this complex, chaotic, yet patterned world," Fitzpatrick said. "The George J. Miller awardees are giants in geography education. Like the winds and the waters, they have shaped the landscape of education for every learner in the United States. I'm humbled but honored to stand with them."

Fitzpatrick's work in geography education began with his tenure, from 1977 to 1992, at St. Paul Academy in Minnesota, where he earned the  NCGE Distinguished Teacher Award. There he mentored students in grades 7–12 to understand the patterns, relationships, and systems of the world.

Fitzpatrick joined Esri as an education manager in 1992, where he works with students, educators, and influencers across the nation. Since 2014, he's championed Esri's,  ConnectED program, which aims to provide ArcGIS Online accounts, lessons, and teacher support free to  every U.S. K-12 school, so all students and teachers can think geographically.

Named on behalf of NCGE's founder, the George J. Miller Award was established in 1932 to celebrate exemplary mentors in the field. Fitzpatrick is the eighty-fourth award recipient.

"Charlie has been a key figure in getting the technologies of geography into the hands of students everywhere," Dulli said. "He won the Miller Award because of his tireless efforts and advocacy for geography education at all levels."

For more information on geography in education, visit  esri.com/ConnectED.

About NCGE

The National Council for Geographic Education (NCGE) is a nonprofit organization, chartered in 1915 to enhance the status and quality of geography teaching and learning. NCGE supports geography teaching at all levels—from Kindergarten through University. Our members include U.S. and International teachers, professors, students, businesses, and others who support geographic education. Visit  ncge.org to learn more.

About Esri

Since 1969, Esri has been giving customers around the world the power to think and plan geographically. The market leader in GIS, Esri software is used in more than 350,000 organizations worldwide including each of the 200 largest cities in the United States, most national governments, more than two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies, and more than 7,000 colleges and universities. Esri applications, running on more than one million desktops and thousands of Web and enterprise servers, provide the backbone for the world's mapping and spatial analysis. Esri is the only vendor that provides complete technical solutions for desktop, mobile, server, and Internet platforms. Visit us at  www.esri.com.

Esri, the Esri globe logo, GIS by Esri, ArcGIS, www.esri.com, and @ esri.com are trademarks, registered trademarks, or service marks of Esri in the United States, the European Community, or certain other jurisdictions. Other companies and products mentioned herein may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective trademark owners.



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