Awards of Merit

Program Overview

The Connecticut League of History Organizations recognizes excellence in Connecticut history through its annual Awards of Merit. The awards recognize institutions and individuals who demonstrate the highest professional standards and who enhance and further the understanding of history in Connecticut.  The purpose of the awards is to recognize the care, thought, and effort invested in these contributions and to inspire and encourage others by acknowledging exceptional contributions to state and local history.

The Awards of Merit program is also a stepping stone to national recognition through the American Association for State and Local History’s Leadership in History Awards.  We encourage organizations with eligible projects to consider submitting to both award programs.  For more information about the AASLH awards, visit https://aaslh.org/programs/leadership-in-history-awards/or contact state representative Nick Foster at communications@wiltonhistorical.org.

Award Categories

CLHO presents Awards of Merit in two categories: Projects and Individual Achievement.

Projects include most types of public-facing research and interpretive work, including but not limited to exhibitions, research projects, websites and digital history/digital humanities projects, online exhibitions, books and other publications, educational and other public programs, talks and lecture series, documentaries/films/videos, demonstrations, restorations, preservation projects, etc.  We accept and review nominations for projects presented in-person, in print, virtually/online, or in hybrid forms.

Individual Achievement awards are intended for people who have made significant and longstanding contributions to Connecticut history beyond the local level. While we recognize that there are countless individuals who are worthy of recognition, this statewide award is intended for those whose achievements rise beyond a single town or locality.  We encourage towns and local history institutions to recognize the contributions of important individuals at the local level with their own awards and accolades.

Eligibility

We accept nominations from individuals, history organizations, and other cultural institutions in Connecticut.  We strongly encourage history organizations to nominate their own work, and to recognize outstanding contributions by peer organizations with a nomination.  Individuals may nominate their own work in the project category, but they may not nominate themselves for individual achievement awards.

All projects completed in Connecticut or by Connecticut organizations within the preceding 18 months are eligible for nomination.  Individuals under consideration for achievement awards should reside in Connecticut and have a track record of significant contributions to Connecticut history beyond the local level.

Nomination Process

To make a nomination, follow the instructions below and submit your package to the 2022 CLHO Awards of Merit Dropbox by the deadline.

Nominations open in November and are due by January 21, 2022.  CLHO will host a free online info session and Q&A with Awards Committee members in December.  The awards committee meets in February to deliberate.  Award recipients are notified in March, and awards are presented at CLHO’s Annual Business Meeting and Awards of Merit Presentation in April.

To learn more about making a nomination, visit our nomination page.

Congratulations 2022 Awards of Merit Recipients!

CLHO congratulates the recipients of our 2022 Awards of Merit, and invites you to join us in honoring their achievements at the awards ceremony and reception.

Projects

• American Clock and Watch Museum, Joseph Ives and the Looking Glass Clock
• Barnum Museum, Barnum's Letters from Abroad: A Blog Series Based on P.T. Barnum's 1845–1846 Copybook
• Chester Historical Society, These Few Lines: Chester in the Civil War as Depicted in the Correspondence between Willis and Nancie Ayers
• City of Norwalk Historical Commission, Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum, Center for Contemporary Printmaking, Mathews Park interpretive panels
• Connecticut Historical Society, "Communities in Action" and "Which Side Are You On?" distance learning programs
• Connecticut Historical Society, Common Struggle, Individual Experience: An Exhibition about Mental Health
• Friends of Wood Memorial Library, Nowashe Village
• Mattatuck Museum, history gallery reinterpretation
• Norwalk Historical Society, Norwalk's Changing Communities, 13,000 BC to 1835
  
• Thompson Historical Society, The Nine Lives of No. 9

Individual Achievement

• Dr. Karl Peter Stofko

Please join us in honoring the awardees on April 19, 2022 at the awards ceremony and reception immediately following the League's Annual Business Meeting. The event runs from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Connecticut Historical Society and is free with your RSVP.