The Park City Community Foundation honored Sally Cousins Elliott as the 2026 recipient of the Trisha J. Worthington Community Service Award during the organization’s annual Grants Celebration on Wednesday evening.
The award, which has been given out since 2015, recognizes a member of the Park City and Summit County community who has dedicated extraordinary time and talent to charitable work.
“Sally has devoted much of her adult life to making Park City and Summit County a better place,” said Don Roll, who nominated her for the award.
Elliott’s public service includes terms on the Park City Council and the Summit County Commission and Council, along with board leadership, often as chair, of organizations including the Utah Quality Growth Commission, Preservation Utah, the Park City Chamber of Commerce, Mountain Trails Foundation, Utah Open Lands, the Utah Women’s Political Caucus, and the Park City Museum, as well as Recycle Utah, an organization she helped bring about through early conversations in 1988.
In 2015, Elliott co-founded the Friends of Ski Mountain Mining History, an all-volunteer group dedicated to preserving Park City’s mining structures and history. Under her leadership, the group has helped save 14 mining structures, with the Thaynes Mine complex currently in progress. The group on Monday opened the Historic Mine Route, which incorporates existing trails along 24 historic silver mining sites to create a free, 7-mile route with self-guided audio tours.
Her advocacy also helped secure listings on the National Register of Historic Places for local mining structures. Elliot has also written extensively about Park City history for the Park City Museum, Park City Magazine, and other publications.
Outside of her professional appointments, Elliot was one of the founders of the Park City Garden Club and has been a volunteer for the Park City Ski Education Foundation, the National Ability Center, and many of the organizations listed above, including the Park City Museum and Preservation Utah.
Elliott’s contributions have been recognized with numerous honors, including the Sierra Club’s Utah Political Leader of the Year in 2007, Recycle Utah’s Recycler of the Year in 2012, and the Park City Board of Realtors’ Community Service Award in 2010. In 2024, she received both the Lucybeth Rampton Lifetime Achievement Award from Preservation Utah and the Park City Chamber of Commerce’s Myles Rademan Spirit of Hospitality Award.
“Each year we look for someone whose generosity has helped shape this community. Sally Elliott is a shining example,” said Tim Fellow, Community Fund Steering Committee member. “Since the 1980s, Elliott’s service as community leader, historical champion and volunteer has significantly shaped the community fabric, public infrastructure, and mining landmarks of our area.”
The Trisha J. Worthington Award is named for the Community Foundation’s founding executive director. Nominations are submitted each August and reviewed by the Community Fund Steering Committee. As part of the award, Park City Community Foundation will grant $1,000 to a nonprofit organization of Elliott’s choosing.
The Community Foundation also announced it delivered $11.8 million in community impact to Park City and Summit County in its 2026 fiscal year, pushing its cumulative community impact since 2007 to $96.3 million.