Cornelius Pugsley’s interest in parks was perpetuated by an awards program endorsed by his son Chester D. Pugsley in 1929. Chester Pugsley was a graduate of Harvard Law School and like his father was active in politics, seeking the Democratic nomination for Governor of New York State in 1936 and 1938. The purpose of the awards was described by Chester Pugsley as follows: PUGSLEY MEDAL FUND INDENTURE The income of this fund shall be applied annually for the maintenance of a gold medal award by the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society for the most important public park service in the United States, a silver medal award for noteworthy public park work in the nation, and a bronze medal for a worthy contribution to public parks in the country, during the previous calendar year. These awards shall be known as the "Honorable Cornelius Amory Pugsley Medals," in recognition of the interest of my father in public parks as evidenced by his service since its organization as a member of the Westchester County Park Commission and his gift of a public park to the municipality of Peekskill. In witness Whereof, I have hereto set my hand and seal this 14th day of February, 1929. Chester Pugsley’s purpose statement indicated that the gold, silver and bronze awards would reflect different magnitudes of contributions, analogous to finishing first, second and third in a competitive event. The awards appear to have reflected this interpretation for the first 35 years or so in which they were made, and during this time period honorees were almost all associated with National or State Parks. In 1953 a new pattern appeared to emerge of recognizing one individual at the national, state/regional and local levels, who was awarded the gold, silver and bronze medal, respectively. This pattern has been retained since that time. Thus, the medal designations no longer attempt to recognize different magnitudes of contributions. Rather, they recognize equally excellent contributions at these different levels of government. The Medals were awarded by the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society which was formed in 1895 by an Act of the legislature of the State of New York. The Society was established for the protection of national scenery and the preservation of historic landmarks. In 1985, the National Park Foundation accepted responsibility for administering the awards on behalf of the Society, and in 1990 the entire resources of the Society were transferred to the Foundation which is the official nonprofit partner of the National Park Service. In the late 1980s, John Bryant, Jr., President of the National Park Foundation, at the suggestion of Conrad Wirth, requested assistance from the Academy of Park and Recreation Administration in identifying nominees for the award. It was agreed that the Academy would identify worthy nominees and the National Park Foundation would make the final selection. In 1996, the Foundation invited the Academy to also make the final selections. The Foundation’s role is now limited to producing the medals for the Academy with funds from the original Pugsley endowment.