From left to right: BCM Curatorial Manager Erika Barker, Head Curator Dr. Rene Rodgers, Executive Director of Advancement Leah Ross and volunteer David Winship.
The Birthplace of Country Music was honored by the East Tennessee Historical Society with a number of Awards of Excellence, including the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award for Leah Ross, BCM’s executive director of advancement, in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the preservation, promotion or interpretation of East Tennessee history.
BCM also achieved honors in Teaching Excellence for outstanding or innovative teaching of East Tennessee history, Community History Leadership, and Project Excellence for programming surrounding the organization’s celebration of the 95th anniversary of the 1927 Bristol Sessions recordings in 2022.
“Our staff and volunteers are very humbled to be recognized for our work in educating the public about the legacy of the 1927 Bristol Sessions and the music of our region,” said Ross. “The impact of that music has been transformative and unifying, and we are grateful to the East Tennessee Historical Society for recognizing the importance of preserving our region’s past so we can build a better future.”
Located in Bristol, Tennessee-Virginia, BCM is the parent nonprofit of the Birthplace of Country Music Museum, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, the annual Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion music festival, and WBCM Radio Bristol, which broadcasts from the museum.
BCM is the torch bearer for the legacy of the seminal 1927 Bristol Sessions recordings, which made a significant impact on the development of the country music industry and ushered the genre into the mainstream. The influence of those recordings led U.S. Congress to designate Bristol the “birthplace of country music” and BCM’s efforts to preserve that history have been instrumental in the revitalization of Bristol’s historic downtown over the past two decades.
Established in 1982, the ETHS Awards of Excellence program annually recognizes individuals and organizations for significant contributions to the preservation, promotion and interpretation of the region’s history. Eligible projects include exhibits, lectures, conferences, publications, print and broadcast media, teaching and lifetime achievement. Organizations and individuals across the region are invited to submit nominations.
For more information about the East Tennessee Historical Society, visit EastTNHistory.org. For more information about the Birthplace of Country Music, visit BirthplaceOfCountryMusic.org.
