2026 Certificate of Merit Awards Announced

The Tennessee Historical Commission has announced the sixteen recipients of this year's annual Certificate of Merit Awards. These awards are presented each May during National Preservation Month. Since 1975, THC's Certificate of Merit Program has recognized exemplary work by individuals, groups, organizations, corporations, or governmental entities to further promote historic preservation or the study of history in Tennessee. Our office was pleased to host a well-attended awards ceremony for these recipients on May 15, 2026.

"For the past 51 years our awards program has honored those working to revitalize Tennessee's historic places. The Merit Awards program also highlights people and organizations for the work they do in the areas of publication and education regarding our State's unique history and heritage," said Miranda Montgomery, State Historic Preservation Officer and Interim Executive Director of the Tennessee Historical Commission.

The Historic Preservation category recognizes excellence in the preservation, restoration, or rehabilitation of a historic or archaeological site, preservation leadership, preservation planning, publications related to historic preservation, public programming, or research. 2026 recipients in this category include:

• Sgt. Alvin C. York State Historic Park, for the preservation and renovation of the Honeymoon House in Pall Mall, TN. Built in 1940, the Honeymoon House served as home to Alvin York Jr. and his new bride. The park worked to rebuild windows, secure floors, fix the roof, and copy original siding. The finished product will allow for adaptive reuse of the home as office space.
• Belmont Mansion, for the preservation of the Billiards Room. A multi-year project, the Mansion reproduced original wallpaper, floor cloth, and wood graining. The project was completed in August 2025, and it is now one of the only 19th century Billiards Rooms open to the public for tours in the south.
  
• Jane-Coleman Cottone and John Sweeney, for their efforts in the Capitol Hill Redevelopment District National Register Nomination. With this nomination, Parkway Towers will be included as a contributing resource in the district, making it eligible for the Federal Historic Tax Credit. The Capitol Hill Redevelopment District was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on March 23, 2026.
• Channing Greene for his cemetery repair work in Rutledge, TN. Greene learned proper cemetery repair and restored a marker for a Confederate solider at the Greenlee Cemetery in Rutledge.
• Kathy Barnes for her successful cemetery workshop at the Roadman Cemetery in Newport, TN. After years of neglect, Barnes hosted a well-attended cemetery workshop. At the workshop, they cleaned headstones with D2, repairing a broken headstone, and clearing brush.
• Robertson County Historical Society for the restoration of the U.S. Post Office building, now the site of the Robertson County History Museum in Springfield, TN. Constructed between 1913 and 1915, the building served as a U.S. Post Office until 1998 and has since served the community as a museum. This past year, the building's original hardwood floors were uncovered and restored.
• Friends of Two Rivers for their work restoring Two Rivers Mansion in Nashville, TN. With this project, interior rooms were restored to their 1859 appearance for better interpretation, and the exterior porch was restored.
• Reagan Design + Construction for their successful Federal Historic Tax Credit project restoring the Vose School in Alcoa, TN. Following the Secretary of the Interior's Standards, the school was successfully rehabilitated the building into an adaptive reuse project, now serving the community as apartments.

The Book or Public Programming category recognizes notable achievements toward advancing the study of Tennessee history through certain types of books or public programming. The 2026 recipients in this category include:

• A Century of Health: Transforming Lives in Tennessee, This traveling exhibit created by the Heritage Center of Murfreesboro and Rutherford County interprets the development of the Tennessee Department of Health from 1923 to 2023.
• Chet Atkins: Mr. Guitar, written by Dr. Don Cusic, this first of its kind biography highlights the works of the legendary guitarist.
• Anita King McCollum, for her editorial works with the Greenback Historical Society's newsletter The Chronicler. Through each newsletter, McCollum promotes the history of Greenback and surrounding communities.
• Howdy!: The Minnie Pearl Story, Written by Dr. Mary Ellen Pethel and Dr. Don Cusic, this novel explores the life and career of Tennessee's most infamous woman in entertainment, Sarah Ophelia Cannon.
• Preserving Place, Empowering Community: Germantown's Fight for Its Future, a public history program put on by the Historic Germantown Neighborhood Association. Commemorating the 35th anniversary of Germantown's 1990 Auto Emissions Site Protest and the community's confrontation with Kroger - two pivotal moments that helped protect Nashville's oldest historic neighborhood from industrial encroachment and displacement.

The Commissioners' Special Commendation category recognizes achievements that relate to the promotion of historic preservation or history, but do not satisfy all the criteria for a Historic Preservation Award or a Book or Public Programming Award. The 2026 awards in this category include:

• Maury County Historical Society, for their time capsule project placed at the cornerstone of the Maury County Judicial Center. This project created a two-volume county history from 1807 to 2024 that was distributed to members of the public as an educational tool and will be opened in 100 years.
• Mayor Dwayne Cole, for his efforts to revitalize the business district of Munford, TN. Mayor Cole established the Munford Downtown Development Commission. Through these efforts, many properties underwent façade restoration.
• Ann and Pat Mann, for their numerous efforts to preserve history in Brownsville, TN. From the preservation and relocation of the Walpole House to the restoration of the Masonic Lodge to educational programming, the Manns have made a lasting impact on Brownsville history. Although Pat Mann passed away in April 2026, Ann Mann, their son David, and several members of the Haywood Heritage Foundation were in attendance at our awards ceremony to honor him.

Nominations are solicited from the public in December of the preceding year and judged by category. Applications for the 2027 Certificate of Merit Awards Program are available on our website.