The Alexandria Historical Society is calling for nominations for the 2008 Alexandria History Award, to be presented to a person or persons who have made noteworthy contributions to the preservation of the historic, cultural, and artistic heritage of Alexandria. Honorees will be presented with a certificate and gift at a special awards ceremony on April 23 at The Lyceum, 201 South Washington Street. Four outstanding history students from each of Alexandrias high schools will also be honored at the ceremony.
Dr. John R. Maass, historian at the U.S. Army Center of Military History at Fort McNair, will deliver a short lecture titled “Past Imperfect,” in which he will discuss the importance of history today to the general public, and point out some of the differences between public and academic history. A reception will follow the award presentation.
Organizations and interested individuals are invited to submit written nominations to the History Award Committee of the Alexandria Historical Society. Each nomination should be in the form of a narrative, no longer than two pages, which explains in some detail the contributions of the nominee. More than one nomination may be offered, and the committee may decide to select more than one person to receive the History Award.
The committee will give particular consideration to those individuals who have written research papers, theses, dissertations, books and materials, which publicly disseminate information on the social and cultural history of the area.
The 2007 History Award honoree was T. Michael Miller, research historian for the City of Alexandria and the author of more than 20 books on Alexandria history. Other History Award winners include Jean Taylor Federico, General George Kundahl, Dr. Alton S. Wallace, Lillie Finklea, William Francis Smith, Dr. James D. Munson, Ellen Donald, Anna Lynch, Catherine B. Hollan, Edith Moore Sprouse, Dr. Pamela J. Cressey, Mona Leithiser Dearborn, Mr. and Mrs. Howard Joynt, Effie Crittenden Dunstan, and Dr. Oscar P. Fitzgerald.
Nominations should be mailed by March 17 to the Office of Historic Alexandria, 220 North Washington Street, Alexandria, VA 22314. For more information about the 2008 History Award, contact Douglas Thurman, President of the Alexandria Historical Society, at 703.548.7052.
