AASLH is proud to announce the winners of the 73rd annual Leadership in History Awards, the most prestigious recognition for achievement in the preservation and interpretation of state and local history. This year, AASLH is proud to confer forty-three national awards honoring people, projects, exhibits, and publications.

“The Leadership in History Awards recognize excellence in the interpretation of state and local history at organizations of all sizes and types,” said Nicholas Hoffman, AASLH National Awards Chair and Managing Director of Education and Visitor Experience at the Missouri Historical Society. “This year’s award winners demonstrate the power of relevancy, collaboration, experimentation, and a more inclusive history to challenge communities to think critically about the past and present.”

The Leadership in History Awards Program was initiated in 1945 to build standards of excellence in the collection, preservation, and interpretation of state and local history throughout America. Each nomination is peer-reviewed by AASLH’s state captains. Final awards are decided by the Awards Committee, comprised of AASLH’s fourteen regional representatives and the National Awards Chair.

The awards include:

  • The Award of Merit which is presented for excellence in history programs, projects, and people when compared with similar activities nationwide.
  • The Albert B. Corey Award is named in honor of a founder and former president of AASLH, and recognizes primarily volunteer-operated historical organizations that best display the qualities of vigor, scholarship, and imagination in their work. The 2018 recipient is the Museum of the American Military Family and Learning Center in Tijeras, NM.
  • The HIP (History in Progress) Award is given at the discretion of the awards committee to 5% or less of the total winners of the Award of Merit. It is for a project that is highly inspirational, exhibits exceptional scholarship, and/or is exceedingly entrepreneurial in terms of funding, partnerships, or collaborations, creative problem solving, or unusual project design and inclusiveness. The 2018 recipients are the Atwood Resource Center at the Anchorage Museum (AK), the Detroit Historical Society (MI), and James Madison’s Montpelier (VA).

Presentation of the awards will be made at a special banquet during the 2018 AASLH Annual Meeting in Kansas City, MO, on Friday, September 28. The banquet is supported by a generous contribution from the HISTORY™.

A full listing of recipients can be viewed below. For more information, contact Bethany Hawkins at [email protected].

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