Vermont History Day Special Prizes

Sponsored by the Preservation Trust of Vermont

The Preservation Trust of Vermont will award prizes for a superior entry focused on historic buildings, architectural history, and building technology in Vermont. The money will be distributed evenly among group members.

First Place $100

Second Place $50

Sponsored by Brenda and Stephen Perkins

The Arts and Medicine Prize of $100 is awarded to an outstanding Junior Division project that focuses on a person who has contributed in some way to the fine arts and/or the medical field. Priority is given to projects focusing on a remarkable Vermonter. This prize is sponsored in order to celebrate those who have impacted the lives of others by their approach to and accomplishments in their chosen field of arts and/or medicine. The money will be distributed evenly among group members.

Sponsored by the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation

The Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation will award $250 to a first-place winner for an outstanding entry on a United States history topic. The money will be distributed evenly among group members.

Sponsored by the Friends of the Vermont State House

The Friends of the Vermont State House will award prizes to the projects that best express the spirit of the Vermont motto - Freedom and Unity - as practiced in an open government and with civic engagement for all people. A prize of $200 will be awarded to one project in each age division, junior and senior. Recipients will also receive a certificate and a guided tour of the Vermont State House. The money will be distributed evenly among group members.

This prize is awarded in memory of two civics education advocates, Bill Haines and Jack Carter.

Sponsored by the Vermont Historical Society through the George F. Edmunds Fund

The George F. Edmunds Memorial Prize honors the work and memory of George F. Edmunds, Vermont’s senator from 1866 to 1891. A monetary prize and engraved medal are awarded to superior projects reflecting on the life and work of George F. Edmunds or relating to the history, problems, or general welfare of Vermont. Students earn recognition for finding unappreciated primary sources and for using their own interests and experiences as launching points. The money will be distributed evenly among group members. Each winner will receive an engraved medal.

Junior Division

First Place $350

Second Place $150

Senior Division

First Place $350

Second Place $150

Sponsored by The Horace Greeley Foundation

The Horace Greeley Foundation will award $50 to an outstanding entry focusing on American Freedoms, including but not limited to Abolition, Women's Rights, Women's Suffrage or Civil Rights. The money will be distributed evenly among the group members. The Horace Greeley Foundation American Freedom Award is sponsored by the Horace Greeley Foundation of Poultney, Vermont. The Horace Greeley Foundation is dedicated to preserving the sense of place and memory of Greeley's life in a small New England town, as well as the writer's trade and public oration that was central to Greeley's life.

Sponsored by Terry Buehner

The International Studies Award will recognize the most outstanding entries that connect the National History Day annual theme to an international person or event. There will be two prizes awarded (First and Second place) in each division (Senior and Junior) with prize amounts based on the type of project (individual or group).

Junior Division

First Place $125 (Ind) or $200 (Group) 

Second Place $75 (Ind) or $100 (Group) 

Senior Division

First Place $125 (Ind) or $200 (Group)

Second Place $75 (Ind) or $100 (Group)

Sponsored by the Vermont LGBTQ History Project

The Vermont LGBTQ History Project will award a prize for an outstanding entry presenting research recognizing the role of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people within Vermont history, United States history or world history. The prize for a winning entry will be $250, with money distributed evenly among group members.

Sponsored by the Lost Mural Project

The Lost Mural Project will award two projects in the junior and senior divisions. The projects must focus on the history of immigration at the local or state level. The Lost Mural is representative of an art form that was once prevalent in Eastern Europe and is a rare surviving example of a painted wall mural in a synagogue The Lost Mural Project is dedicated to educating the public about the Lost Mural, the Burlington immigrant Jewish Community, (formerly called “Burlington’s Little Jerusalem”), and all immigrant groups who have found a home either in our region or across the state. Special consideration is given to projects that focus on art that is representative of Vermont’s immigrant history.

Junior Division

First Place $200

Second Place $100

Senior Division

First Place $200

Second Place $100

Sponsored in Honor of Mollie Beattie

The Mollie Beattie Memorial Prize of $150 is awarded to an outstanding project focusing on the natural world. In addition to adhering to the annual theme, the entry could address topics including, but not limited to, preservation of wild lands, protection of fish, wildlife habitat, biodiversity, the support of threatened species, or similar aspirations that human members of the natural world strive to achieve in Mollie’s honor. The award will be distributed evenly among group members.

About Mollie:

After earning an M.S. in forestry from UVM, Mollie Beattie began her public environmental stewardship career as Vermont’s Commissioner of Forests, Parks and Recreation. Appointed to that post by Governor Madeleine Kunin in 1985, she went on to become Deputy Commissioner of DEC. A state park near her home in Grafton bears her name. Under President Clinton she became the first woman Director of the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Under her leadership 15 new wildlife refuges were created. Clinton named the largest block of wilderness in the Brooks Range of the northeastern Alaska National Wildlife Refuge after her. Among her legacies is the reintroduction of the grey wolf to northern Yellowstone National Park. She wrote, “What a country chooses to save is what a country chooses to say about itself.” Mollie

Sponsored by Norwich University

The Norwich University Military History Prize of $100 recognizes an outstanding Vermont History Day project on military history. This research field can include any time, place, or topic relating to warfare. A military historian may be someone who explores the decisions of commanding officers or the feats of soldiers in battle. The field could examine the experiences of men and women in uniform, or the influence of politics and culture on the armed forces. Military history also looks at populations who waged war, endured hardships, and reckoned with the aftermath of wars. Students should study military history in their quest to become engaged and informed citizens, who consider and question the use of military force – in the past, present, and future. With this goal in mind, this prize will be awarded for the best Vermont History Day project in military history.

Sponsored by The Vermont Truth and Reconciliation Commission

The Vermont Truth and Reconciliation Commission was created by Legislative Act 128 in 2022, and formalized in 2023. The Commission’s work involves researching the past in a manner that allows us to understand the laws that allowed unequal and harmful treatment of particular groups of people. We research the past to understand how to create a better future for all Vermonters. We search for truth. The Commission focuses on the following communities:

• Black Community
• French Canadians
• LGBTQ
• Disabled
• Native Americans
• Other communities decided by the Commission.

The TRC is awarding $100 and a certificate for the selected project centered on Vermont History that best reflects the work of the commission with a focus on examining wrongs of the past. The selected project should consider multiple perspectives and include a restorative analysis.

Sponsored by the Vermont Historical Society

The Vermont History Award of $300 is presented to an entry in each age division, senior and junior, for demonstrated excellence in the use of primary sources for researching a Vermont history topic. In addition to the monetary award, the winning student(s) will receive a publication about Vermont history. The award will be distributed evenly among group members.

Sponsored by the Vermont State Archives and Records Administration, Secretary of State

The Vermont State Archives and Records Administration will award prizes to projects that demonstrate outstanding use of primary sources, particularly Vermont primary sources. The money will be distributed evenly among group members.

First Place $125

Second Place $75

Sponsored by Patricia Passmore Alley in memory of Helen Vrooman Passmore

The Women’s History Award is presented to the best project focusing on the contributions of a woman or women in history. The recipient of this award will receive $250. The award will be distributed evenly among group members.