Tennessee Historical Commission Announces Merit Awards

Nashville, Tenn. – The Tennessee Historical Commission has announced 10 recipients of its 2007 Certificate of Merit Awards, which recognize Tennessee individuals and groups who have worked to preserve Tennessee’s cultural heritage.

The Historical Commission announces its Certificate of Merit Awards every year during May, which is Historic Preservation Month. This year’s Historic Preservation Month theme is “Making Preservation Work,” which embodies this year’s award recipients.

“Historic places enrich our communities in so many ways and we’re thankful to those people and organizations that give of themselves to preserve Tennessee’s heritage,” said Patrick McIntyre, executive director of the Historical Commission. “From our unique landmarks, to beautiful revitalized downtowns and time-honored neighborhoods, the enormous contributions historic places provide to Tennessee are worth celebrating, and the people who work to help protect these special places are worth recognizing.”

Recipients of the 2007 Certificate of Merit Awards are:

• The Tennessee Preservation Trust, The Heritage Conservation Network, Steve Burns of the National Park Service and Mrs. Jonathan Smith of Ooltewah, for coordinating and undertaking an emergency stabilization project for the endangered c. 1828 Chief James Brown House in Ooltewah;

• Velma Howell Brinkley of Gallatin for her longtime contributions to the study of African American history;

• Susan Daniel of Rutherford County, for her longtime work in researching and publishing information on the county’s history;

• The Innovators Group of Leadership Upper Cumberland, for developing an audio driving tour that chronicles historic places of interest in Middle Tennessee;

• The Sumner County Convention and Visitors Bureau in Gallatin for its Heritage Marketing Partnership grant program, which provides promotional dollars for historic sites in the county that are open to the public;

• Main Street Collierville, for its Pennies for Preservation campaign with area schoolchildren;

• Rick Dover of Loudon, for his restoration and adaptive reuse of the c. 1810 Carmichael Inn and Orme-Wilson Storehouse.

For more information about the Tennessee Historical Commission, please visit www.tdec.net/hist/.