BEATRICE – History Nebraska is planning to honor organizations and individuals Wednesday, for contributions to the preservation and interpretation of Nebraska history.

One of those organizations is Main Street Beatrice…which will receive the 2023 Nebraska State Historic Preservation Award.  The organization is being honored for working closely with the State Historical Preservation Office to promote tax credit programs….to educate citizens on historic preservation….and create community-wide events for the public and local government.

Main Street Beatrice is being credited for its work toward downtown building façade preservation and promoting interest in opening up second-story levels of downtown buildings.

The History Nebraska Excellence in Teaching Award will be presented to Dr. Sara Crook, a 38-year instructor of Nebraska History at Peru State College.  A core component of a course she teaches includes the Nebraska Historical Marker program….which has students submit proposals for potential historic markers across the state.  In addition to other awards, Crook has helped facilitate the Trails N Tales program in Nebraska.

Three persons will be honored with the Champion of History Award……Richard Witt of Hastings and Debora Heard and Claire Du Laney, both of Omaha. 

Witt has been a driving force behind much of the written history of Adams County, promoting local history partly through editing the Adams County Historical News.

Heard and Du Laney work together on a project called Charting Our Path DEAI Strategic Investment Project….promoting and documenting  the 50th anniversary of the UNO Department of Black Studies…including focus on history, culture and scholarship.

The 2023 James Sellers Award will be presented to Gail Blankenau, of Lincoln.  She’s being honored for the best article contained in the Nebraska History Magazine, which focused on a case-study about how the national debate over slavery played out in territorial Nebraska.   Blankenau traced Celia and Eliza Grayson’s escape from slavery.

A lunch and awards ceremony will be held Wednesday at noon….at the Nebraska History Museum….131 Centennial Mall North, in Lincoln.    Awards presentations to those being honored will be made by state senators who represent the award winners’ districts.