2011 Alaska Historical Society award a pleasant surprise

I was taken by surprise the other day. A friend called a month or so ago and asked me why I wasn’t at the recent Alaska Historical Society’s annual meeting held in Valdez, especially since I had won an award. I replied that I hadn’t known anything about it. (My job had me working over at the Canadian border that week.)

Turns out The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner and I won a Contributions to Alaska History Award, presented to an “individual or individuals who have made singular and significant recent contributions to Alaska history.” We won for my column, “Sketches of Alaska,” which I have been producing for the newspaper for over a year now.

My friend accepted the award for me but wouldn’t give me the plaque since there was supposed to be a local award ceremony to recognize all the Fairbanks residents who had won historical society awards. (There were about five people from Fairbanks, quite a sweep.) 

The local ceremony keeps getting pushed back and is now scheduled for January. However, my friend decided that was too long to wait so she gave me the plaque this week. I guess in January I have to give the plaque back so it can be given to me again.