Awards
2011 Organizational Merit Awards
The Individual Achievement Award goes to Langdon F. Clay, Honeoye Falls, NY, for Lang’s lifetime of prolific service to the arts and history as the former Director of Education at Memorial Art Gallery, Academic Service at the University of Rochester, Curator for 16 years of the Honeoye Falls-Town of Mendon Historical Society, and other venues in the US and Europe. Lang was nominated by Barry F. Quinn, President, Honeoye Falls-Town of Mendon Historical Society.
The award for exceptional publications goes to The Buffalo Museum of Science, Buffalo, NY, for “Educator’s Guide: Journeys Into Papua; Exploring the South Pacific” in connection with their exhibit of the same name. Using a collaborative approach, the BMOS made this exotic exhibit relevant to children by exploring the themes of adornment, travel, memory and the decorative arts, using a cross-disciplinary approach. The publication was nominated by Kathryn Leacock, Curator.
The award for exceptional exhibits is given to The Town of Porter Historical Society for an exhibit mounted of “The Lewiston and Youngstown Frontier Railway Company”, after the small organization found a historic photograph of the 1895-1926 passenger service between the two Villages. The collaboration of the Lewiston-Porter High School Art Department helped design and paint a mural of the route; and a DVD is being prepared. The high quality of the exhibit of a railroad whose vestiges can still be seen today was evident in spite of limited funds. The exhibit was nominated for an award by AnnMarie Linnabery.
The award for exceptional programs is given to the Angelica Booster Citizens, Inc., Angelica, NY, again this year for their tour of Until the Day Dawn Cemetery, August 6 & 7, 2011, entitled “Civil War Remembered”. The event observed the 150th anniversary of the War, and reenacted those who fought in the war, African-American citizens, and abolitionist Calvin Fairbank, imprisoned for his beliefs in Kentucky. The 40 year history of the Boosters historic preservation efforts culminates in the Angelica Heritage Days. The proceeds are donated to improve the historic sites they feature. The Boosters were nominated by Angelica Boosters President, David G. Haggstrom.
The organizational award of merit goes to the History Center of Niagara, Lockport, NY, operated by the Niagara County Historical Society, for their grand opening August 20, 2011, of the Penney Gallery and Penney Resource/ Library Center. The gift of 5,000 objects and archives of local interest by Philanthropist Charles Rand Penney before his death in 2010 was the impetus to build a new 1,000 square foot mezzanine exhibition gallery. A separate space was repurposed within the Erie Canal Discovery Center for a museum standard storage facility and research library. The History Center raised just under a half million dollars in financial support. Volunteers and staff packed the 5,000 objects archivally and moved them over the summer of 2011. The attraction will move the Discovery Center into a year-round tourist and research destination, attracting an expected 30,000 visitors per year. The History Center was nominated by Doug Farley, Director of Development.