AASLH National Award!

The American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) has informed the Texas Historical Commission (THC) that its “Texas in World War II Statewide Site Survey of Military and Home Front Sites” project has been selected as a recipient of a 2011 Leadership in History Award. Besides THC and its project manager, William McWhorter, the award names EComm and EComm project historian, Lara Newcomer, as recipients. THC awarded the contract to EComm for Phases I and II of the project in 2008 and another contract for Phase III in 2010. Lara has been working with THC since the project’s inception to develop the state’s first comprehensive survey of historic sites related to the role Texas and Texans played in World War II. The award will be presented at the AASLH Annual Meeting in Richmond, Virginia in September.

The AASLH Leadership in History Awards Program recognizes exemplary work completed by state or federal historical societies, institutions, or agencies; regional, county, or local historical societies, institutions, or agencies; specialized subject societies in related fields such as oral history, genealogy, folklore, archaeology, business history, railroad history, etc.; junior historical societies; privately owned museums or foundations; individuals; and organizations outside the field of traditional historical agencies. Awards are given for general excellence, exhibits, public and educational programming, special projects, publications, multimedia, individual achievement, and preservation or restoration projects. Now in its 66th year, the Awards Program is the most prestigious national recognition for achievement in the preservation and interpretation of local, state, and regional history. AASLH initiated the Awards Program in 1945 to establish and encourage standards of excellence in the collection, preservation, and interpretation of state and local history throughout America.

The AASLH, established in 1904, is a not-for-profit professional organization of individuals and institutions working to preserve and promote history. From its headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee, AASLH provides leadership and support for its members who preserve and interpret state and local history in order to make the past more meaningful to all Americans.