Advocacy Award

The VAF Advocacy Award recognizes exemplary efforts and achievements on behalf of our vernacular built heritage. The award honors individuals and groups for exceptional contributions toward the interpretation, appreciation, and protection of vernacular buildings and cultural landscapes, and recognizes outstanding initiative, commitment, and action to promote and protect vernacular resources. The award may be made in recognition of a specific effort or the nominee's long-term record.  Awardee will be given two full registrations to the VAF conference and a certificate of excellence.

2021 Advocacy Award Recipients

The 2021 VAF Advocacy Award goes to Mimi and Ron Miller for their advocacy for the preservation and rehabilitation of the broad range of historic resources located in and near Natchez, Mississippi applied consistently and successfully over the course of professional careers that span almost fifty years.   Both Mimi and Ron coordinated their preservation efforts and their advocacy as executive directors of Historic Natchez Foundation, Ron as the foundation’s first executive director (1979-2008) and Mimi as its second (2008-2018) after Ron moved temporarily to the Gulf Coast to guide the rehabilitation of more than 270 historic buildings damaged by Hurricane Katrina.  Under their leadership, HNF grew into one of the nation’s leading local preservation organizations as they tackled a wide array of projects that recognized and maintained Natchez's unique sense of place. 

Please visit the 2021 Advocacy Award Recipients page for more details about about Mimi and Ron Miller.

Past Advocacy Award Winners

See our Tools for Advocacy including links to websites that offer information and advice to help you in your own advocacy efforts.

Nominations for the 2023 Advocacy Award are due February 1, 2023.

Details on submissions here