Nevada County Historical Society

Historical Society Annual Awards Nomination

Active members of the Historical Society are invited to nominate candidates for the Citizen of the Year, Lifetime Achievement, and Distinguished Service awards. The nominations for these awards will be reviewed by the Awards Committee, composed of members of the Board of Directors, who will make the selections.

The awards criteria, a list of previous awards recipients, and a nomination form are below. It is important that you carefully review the awards criteria so that your nomination is suitable for the award category that you choose. 

Please complete your nomination by September 1st. The nomination can be submitted online (below), email a PDF of the nomination form to awards@nevadacountyhistory.org, or send the nomination form by mail to: NCHS Awards Committee, 161 Nevada City Hwy., Nevada City, CA 95959.

Award Nomination Form

Please complete the form below, providing as much detail as possible to assist the Awards Committee.

Award Nomination and Selection Procedure

All 2024 awards nominations must be submitted by September 1, 2024. 

Please submit them online (here) or mail the Award Nomination Form to:

NCHS Awards Committee
161 Nevada City Highway,
Nevada City, CA 95959

Or by emailing a PDF of the Award Nomination Form to  awards@nevadacountyhistory.org.

Selection Procedure:

  1. Nominations must be submitted online or using the official nomination form to the Awards Committee by the deadline date indicated.
  1. Nominators must submit their name and telephone number, in case the Awards Committee requires clarification or more information.
  1. Committee members will base their decisions on the nominee’s accomplishments as documented on the nomination form and on additional information that the Committee possesses.
  1. The selection will be made based on all-around contributions to Nevada County history as defined in the attached awards criteria.
  1. Each Awards Committee member will review the nominations before a vote is taken.
  1. The nominee with the most Committee votes will be selected.
  1. The Chair of the Committee will notify the selected honoree and the nominator.
  1. Awards will be presented at the annual Awards event.

Awards Criteria

Citizen of the Year Award
(Members only)

The Citizen of the Year Award recognizes the service of a NCHS member whose efforts in the recent past, although not necessarily in the current year, have materially and substantially contributed to the Society.  Typically, this service will have been through volunteer efforts that contributed to the Society overall, or to one or more of the Society’s museums or the Searls Historical Library.  A Society member may receive the Citizen of the Year Award more than once, but every effort should be made to recognize a contributor who has not yet been recognized.

Lifetime Achievement Award
(Members only)

The Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes the contribution of a NCHS member who has contributed across a long span of time, and who has volunteered significant hours to the Society generally, or to one or more of its units.  Typically, this award is granted to an individual who is at point in life where she or he is cutting back, or refocusing volunteer efforts, and it is deemed an appropriate time for the Society to recognize his or her lengthy service.

Distinguished Service Award
(Members, non-members, NCHS units, unaffiliated organizations and projects or programs)

The Distinguished Service Award recognizes a body of work or a noteworthy project or program that has made a significant contribution to the history of Nevada County.

The recipient of this award need not be a NCHS member, nor need the work be associated with, or benefit the Society.  Potentially this category could be used to recognize programs or projects aimed at more general audiences than are currently served by the Society, or represented in our volunteer base, and which improve the general public’s access to, or appreciation of Nevada County history in the broadest sense.  Note: other organizations often name such awards after a well-known contributor from the past. 

Examples might include:

  • The restoration, rehabilitation or preservation of a historic building or structure open to the public (e.g., the rebuilding of the bridge at Bridgeport).
  • An important archaeology project (e.g., the Malakoff Diggins inventory).
  • The collection or preservation of materials important to local history (e.g. a future digitization of Nevada County’s historical newspapers).
  • The development of an important historical exhibit.
  • An important anniversary of a history-focused organization that serves a broad general audience
  • An educational program that takes local history into the public schools (e.g. teacher guides, a field trip program, visiting lecture series).
  • Production of media such as web pages, web-based video, audio, blogs, documentaries, and films about local history.
  • Development of public programs such as a lecture series, walking tour, oral history project, conference, workshop, etc.
  • Publication of a written work such as a significant book, which was aimed at the public.