Tennessee History Day award winners announced...

This is just a glimpse of the many student projects
on display during Tennessee History Day on Saturday.

On Saturday, I had the privilege to participate as a volunteer judge for Tennessee History Day. Yesterday, Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett announced the winners in a press release. Sixty-three students from the Volunteer State qualified for a trip to Maryland this summer to participate in the National History Day competition after their projects were judged the best of the best at Tennessee History Day. As President of the Society of Tennessee Archivists, I would like to specifically recognize the winners of the STA's Award for Archival Research:

• William Seth Eckelson earned the Junior Division Award for his individual documentary, "Subsistence Homesteads: Reforming a Nation by Revolutionizing Communities."
• In the Senior Division, Maranda Vandergriff and Elisa Vandergriff earned honors for their group documentary, "Coal Creek Wars: Revolution in the Mines."

Our judges were particularly impressed with how each student utilized Tennessee's archival repositories in their research projects. It was such an inspiration to see so many young people taking an active interest in the past.

• Click here to read the entire press release from the Tennessee Secretary of State's office.
• Click here for a list of the top three in each category.
• Click here for a list of the special awards, including the STA Award.

Saturday was a great day in Tennessee History! Best of luck to our finalists in the National History Day competition.

UPDATE 6/20/2012: Three Tennessee students received national honors at the annual National History Day (NHD) competition held at the University of Maryland in College Park, and six students received affiliate (state) honors. Congrats to the winners, and kudos to every student who participated!