2006 May Heritage Month Awards

NINE HERITAGE MONTH AWARDS ANNOUNCED

Scott Akridge of Bradford picked up a Heritage Award, Ellen Blair of Clay was named Volunteer of the Year, and five other individuals and two organizations were also honored by the White County Historical Society recently as the finale of Heritage Month.

Akridge is a long-time member of the WCHS, a former teacher at Riverview High School, co-author of the county's top Civil War history, former president of the Arkansas Archeological Society, and an earnest preservationist. The Heritage Award is the highest honor handed out by the organization, which has 500 members nationwide.

One of the success stories of 2005 for the Society was "White County Cookin'," a cookbook that was conceived by Ellen Blair. She led the team that produced it, drove to Tennessee with her husband Leroy to pick it up in order to meet deadlines, then persuaded restaurants and other outlets throughout the county to put it on display and sell it. The project also earned Merit Awards for Ruth Browning of Searcy and Anna Beth Redman of West Point. Calvin Hawkins of El Paso was also a Merit Award winner for his assistance in the cleanup of historic Dupriest Cemetery.

Certificates of Appreciation went to the Searcy Fire Department for its help in restoring and preserving 1856 Smyrna Church, and to Searcy Master Gardeners for their landscaping wor Mariola Payne of Dover Receives and Award k at Pioneer Village. Fire Chief Bill Baldridge is chairman of the Smyrna Preservation Committee.

"Chips From the Wood Yard" was announced as winner of the annual Cloie Presley Award for the best county history of the year. The book is a collection of writings by the late Adele Meacham Wood of Little Red that was published by her daughters Mariola Payne of Dover and Laquita Kent of Washington, DC. The sisters and other honorees received framed custom-designed certificates. The meeting climaxed Heritage Month in May, in which the Historical Society participated in public events aimed at preserving the heritage of White County.

	White County, Arkansas
	White County Historical Society
	May 2006 Heritage Month Awards
NINE HERITAGE MONTH AWARDS ANNOUNCED Scott Akridge of Bradford picked up a Heritage Award, Ellen Blair of Clay was named Volunteer of the Year, and five other individuals and two organizations were also honored by the White County Historical Society recently as the finale of Heritage Month. Akridge is a long-time member of the WCHS, a former teacher at Riverview High School, co-author of the county's top Civil War history, former president of the Arkansas Archeological Society, and an earnest preservationist. The Heritage Award is the highest honor handed out by the organization, which has 500 members nationwide. One of the success stories of 2005 for the Society was "White County Cookin'," a cookbook that was conceived by Ellen Blair. She led the team that produced it, drove to Tennessee with her husband Leroy to pick it up in order to meet deadlines, then persuaded restaurants and other outlets throughout the county to put it on display and sell it. The project also earned Merit Awards for Ruth Browning of Searcy and Anna Beth Redman of West Point. Calvin Hawkins of El Paso was also a Merit Award winner for his assistance in the cleanup of historic Dupriest Cemetery. Certificates of Appreciation went to the Searcy Fire Department for its help in restoring and preserving 1856 Smyrna Church, and to Searcy Master Gardeners for their landscaping work at Pioneer Village. Fire Chief Bill Baldridge is chairman of the Smyrna Preservation Committee. "Chips From the Wood Yard" was announced as winner of the annual Cloie Presley Award for the best county history of the year. The book is a collection of writings by the late Adele Meacham Wood of Little Red that was published by her daughters Mariola Payne of Dover and Laquita Kent of Washington, DC. The sisters and other honorees received framed custom-designed certificates. The meeting climaxed Heritage Month in May, in which the Historical Society participated in public events aimed at preserving the heritage of White County.

White County, Arkansas

White County Historical Society

May 2006 Heritage Month Awards

NINE HERITAGE MONTH AWARDS ANNOUNCED