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Robert Ayersman II has been a member of the Rowlesburg Area Historical Society for nearly 30 years, and currently serves as Vice President. He has spearheaded construction work at the Cannon Hill Civil War site, overseeing drainage work, road grading, and fencing around the historical site. He also assists with upkeep of the Cannon Hill site and other historic buildings by volunteering to mow and weed-eat, as well as helping with any necessary building repairs and development of signage. He is also an advocate for the Joycelyn Ayersman and Robert Ayersman Memorial Scholarship Fund for our local school participants. His efforts have kept the society's sites in good order and have helped to draw new membership.
Rowlesburg Area Historical Society
Donna Bertazzoni has served as a docent at the Historic Shepherdstown Museum since 2017. She supervised the development of an introductory video for the Museum, a docent handbook, and is currently developing an introductory brochure and map for museum visitors. She also worked with multiple organizations and institutions to organize various events, ceremonies, and reenactments to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Bee Line March. Donna also organized three seminars about the Bee Line March and contributed to the development of other related materials, including an interactive map that was featured in the July edition of the Smithsonian Magazine.
Nominated by Historic Shepherdstown Museum
For the past two years, Tina Conner has volunteered at the Marshall County Historical Society's museum. Her efforts have been vital in preserving the appearance and organization of the society's old museum building, and she has been a driving force in preparing the society's new museum building, which was purchased in October 2025. She also served as an emcee for the Patriots and Heroes weekend last year and helped ensure that the event ran smoothly. Her hard work and dedication have gone a long way in helping the society share Marshall County's rich history with the public.
Nominated by Marshall County Historical Society
Janice Cooley has served the Greenbrier Historical Society as Vice President and President. Her determination to preserve the history of communities in the Greenbrier Valley region has resulted in unique exhibits and an ongoing project to preserve the history of the Meadow River Valley. Her portrayal of Nancy Perkins Calendar, both locally and in Atlanta, brought the story of this brave and talented woman to a large audience and led to her selection for the 2024 National Black Storytellers Fellowship Award.
Nominated by Greenbrier Historical Society
Dorothy (Bibbee) Enoch has long been an unsung hero for the Wood County Historical and Preservation Society. Dorothy served as First Vice President of the society from 2014 to 2025, and currently serves as Second Vice President. Throughout her tenure, she has helped schedule speakers for the WCHPS monthly meetings, led the formation of a refreshment committee and a garden committee, and photographically documented the restoration of the Phelps-Tavenner House and various other events. She also has served as a proofreader for the society's quarterly newsletter for years and has published within it various articles of her own.
Nominated by Wood County Historical and Preservation Society
Wayne Farley, who was born and lived most of his life in various places in West Virginia, has collected and researched West Virginia historical documents, postal history, and ephemera since 1980. He is currently a trustee of the Ohio Valley Civil War Roundtable and also serves as the editor of Postmarks for the Virginia Postal History Society, which also includes West Virginia postal history. Over the years, he has written articles and monographs for various philatelic journals relating to West Virginia postal history and has given talks to philatelic organizations and Civil War roundtables on West Virginia postal history and other West Virginia topics.
Nominated by Ohio Valley Civil War Roundtable Society
William "Bill" Graley and his late wife, Carol, have been involved with the St. Albans Historical Society since its founding in 1972, including assisting with the restoration of the St. Albans Depot and Morgan's Kitchen. Bill has donated various archives and artifacts, assisted with cleaning and restoration of cemeteries in the area, and helped compile data for a book about the history of St. Albans. He also has owned two historic homes in St. Albans and has opened both to the public for historic home tours.
Nominated by St. Albans Historical Society
As president of Ritchietown Renaissance, Inc., Debbie Griffin has led efforts to save historic buildings in South Wheeling, assist homeowners with repairs, and educate the public about the history of the neighborhood. The recently completed "9/11 Care & Repair Project" has attracted attention throughout the city and will hopefully become a model for future efforts. Through her leadership, Ritchietown Renaissance saved an important commercial building in South Wheeling. Additionally, Debbie has completed several National Register nominations and surveys for properties in Wheeling, and she researched and compiled detailed historic contexts on three of Wheeling's most prominent architects.
Nominated by Friends of Wheeling
For more than thirty years, Fred Harmon has devoted himself to preserving and interpreting our state's history through disciplined, authentic living history work. He has served as a board member, historian, and Sargent Major of the Circle Seven Ranch's living history organization. He has mentored young reenactors and has personally made and provided equipment to youth who are unable to afford it. He has helped with various living history events, including Henderson Hall and Elizabeth Civil War Days, as well as many others. Fred's leadership has strengthened reenactment units across multiple eras, elevated public understanding of West Virginia's past, and set a standard of excellence for historical interpretation.
Nominated by Circle Seven Ranch
Terry Lowry is the author of eight books and numerous articles on the Civil War in West Virginia, as well as one book on his father's World War II battalion. He recently donated materials collected for the latter to Marshall University. Lowry has also given many lectures and participated in living history groups, Civil War roundtables, and historic archaeology. He worked for three years at the historic Craik-Patton House Museum and is a retired historian from West Virginia Archives and History. A musician for sixty years, Lowry has written about the music scene in the Kanawha Valley in the 1960s and 1970s.
Nominated by West Virginia Historical Society
While serving as Captain of the Society of Mayflower Descendants in the State of West Virginia from 2023 to 2026, Ruth Ellen D. Ferry Mooney has been a vital member due to her knowledge of Robert's Rules of Order protocol and her understanding and dissemination of the society's bylaws. Ruth is very active in the society and has participated in every display and parade promotional opportunity since joining in 2020. Ruth will also serve as Secretary of the society from 2026 to 2029, and will continue to guide the society and its members in her new position.
Nominated by The Society of Mayflower Descendants in the State of West Virginia
Since before the creation of the Morgan County Historical and Genealogical Society in 1977, of which they were founding members, Barbara and J. Brown Norton have been actively engaged in researching, documenting, and sharing Paw Paw's rich history for current and future generations. The information they have gathered has been shared in books and videos to which they have contributed to directly, as well as walking tours and presentations based on their research. Their historical knowledge was also integral to the recent listing of several historic buildings in Paw Paw on the National Register of Historic Places. With Barbara's interest in history and J. Brown's intimate knowledge of local history, their willingness to share what they have learned through a variety of mediums has helped ensure that Paw Paw's history is not forgotten.
Nominated by the Town of Paw Paw
Earl and Zach Parsons are twins who worked together assisting the Madie Carroll House Preservation Society with all its activities and events this past year, as well as participating in planning at meetings. They also served as docents, recruiting new members and welcoming visitors. They recruited family members to help clean and prepare the Historic House for events, as well as decorating it for Christmas. Earl had the Bylaws translated into Braille to make them more accessible to others who are visually impaired. Both Earl and Zach also presented an educational talk on U.S. Presidents who served in the Civil War to school children.
Nominated by Madie Carroll House Preservation Society, Inc.
Mary Ellen Reid serves as a primary member of the Wayne County Genealogical and Historical Society. She is a driving force behind the society's library and assists with keeping it open and organizing its materials. She is also a history interpreter and has reenacted several historical female characters. She routinely donates her time and money to help the society function, and it would be difficult for the society to continue operations or remain open for public visitation without her contributions.
Nominated by Wayne County Genealogical and Historical Society
Over the past three decades, Peter Smith has taken the initiative to organize and carry out numerous events that celebrate the history of Shepherdstown, including the year-long 250th anniversary of Shepherdstown celebration in 2012, which concluded with a parade organized by Peter, and the creation of a book that included the history of the early settler families. Last year, he organized and chaired Shepherdstown's commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the Bee Line March, which included working with numerous federal, state, county, and local associations, as well as organizing various celebrations and events throughout the year.
Nominated by Rotary Club of Shepherdstown
Over the past nine years, George S. Swann has worked to research genealogies for Civil War soldiers' descendants. He has helped previous History Hero Barry Huffstutler to clean and document over 100 cemeteries in Cabell County. He has also worked in genealogy, researching his own family tree since he was eleven. He has collected and documented numerous stories and artifacts pertaining to rural Cabell County. He has been a Civil War reenactor with Chapman's Battery since 2012 but has curtailed that activity since being diagnosed with glaucoma several years ago.
Nominated by A. G. Jenkins Camp, Sons of Confederate Veterans
Betsy Sweeny has been an active board member of the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia for six years and currently serves as PAWV's secretary. She was integral in the planning and execution of the PAWV Preservation Conference that was held in Wheeling in May 2025 and also assisted with PAWV's strategic planning meeting in November 2025 to set priorities for the year to come. In her personal life, she is dedicated to preservation and bringing architecture and trades education to the public. She runs a successful social media page that also educates people on these topics worldwide.
Nominated by Preservation Alliance of West Virginia
As a native of Arthurdale, Mary West takes the stories, history, and traditional cooperative folk arts of the people in this community to heart. As a community member and chair of the Arthurdale Heritage Board of Directors, Mary has worked to secure both the fiscal and structural foundation of the museum, its collection, and the campus, as well as to develop a wide variety of community engagement events and activities by leading in the creation and adoption of Arthurdale Heritage's first organizational strategic plan. Mary has also recently been involved with early rehabilitation work of the historic Arthurdale High School building, with hopes of it being converted into a historic trades training facility.
Nominated by Arthurdale Heritage, Inc.
Melanie Wray has been involved in reenacting since childhood and has been a member of Guyandotte Civil War Days for two years. For decades, GCWD has utilized the local VFW Post building, but when the building went up for sale last year, disaster seemed imminent. However, Melanie was able to help secure a new location at the Guyandotte Methodist Church's Giving Tree food pantry. When the federal government shut down, the event faced peril again. To receive state-allocated monies for assistance, the food pantry had to stay open on weekends, which conflicted with GCWD's event. Rising to the occasion, Melanie ensured that both the event went off without a hitch and that not one individual in the Guyandotte area who needed a food box that weekend went hungry.
Nominated by Guyandotte Civil War Days and Raid on Guyandotte, Inc.
Bonnie Young turned a 100+ year old elementary school in Pipestem, slated for demolition, into a museum. Incorporating a non-profit organization to lease and manage the school, she was able to repair the structure, at a total cost of about $400,000, not including the volunteer labor. Named the Pipestem Elementary School Museum, the structure now houses original items from the school, as well as other artifacts relating to Summers County history. The museum is open to the public and used weekly for community and specially planned events. Bonnie developed an effective brochure to help with advertising and has presented programs about the museum to the historical society.
Nominated by Guyandotte Civil War Days and Raid on Guyandotte, Inc.