missouri humanities council

The 2008 Governor’s Humanities Award

The Missouri Humanities Council each year honors outstanding teachers, historians, museum professionals, and writers for the annual Governor’s Humanities Awards. These awards for excellence recognize a few individuals who have made important contributions to their schools, or their community’s cultural life.

The awards recognize a variety of achievements. A Community Heritage Award recognizes a person who has made a special contribution to a community’s understanding of its heritage. The Excellence in Humanities Education Award recognizes one or more teachers of English, history, languages or social studies, grades K-12 in public or private Missouri schools. The Book Award recognizes an individual or group whose book has increased our understanding and appreciation of Missouri’s history and culture, regardless of publisher or the author’s place of residence.

2008 Recipients

Book Award

Mitch Jayne of Eminence for Fiddler’s Ghost, the master storyteller’s tale of suspense featuring the characters, music, and customs of Ozark Mountain culture.

Robert Frizzell from Maryville for Independent Immigrants – a Settlement of Hanoverian Germans in Western Missouri, the sometimes turbulent history of immigrant Germans in Lafayette County from 1838 to 1890.

Platte County Historical and Genealogical Society for The History of Platte County, Missouri – A Proud Legacy, the story of the people and events in the county from its initial exploration through today.

Community Heritage Award

KETC-TV, St. Louis’s PBS station for the film “Your Stories.” featuring poignant personal stories of St. Louisans during the World War II years – to be aired as an adjunct to Ken Burns’ WWII documentary.

Thomas W. Carneal of Maryville, distinguished historian, preservationist and scholar for his career achievements in promoting the cultural and architectural heritage of Northwest Missouri.

University of Missouri Press for fifty years of contributions to scholarly and inspired publishing, and the c ultivation of important regional resources about and for Missouri and the Midwest.

Excellence in Education

Amy McBride Barker, a stand-out English literature and composition teacher at Kirkwood High School, is an inspiration to her students with her passion, energy and dedication to the humanities.

Dr. Maridella Carter of the Blue Springs South High School English department inspires love for the arts in her students, colleagues and throughout the state with her exceptional knowledge and devotion to the humanities.

Missouri Winners in National History Day Activities

The Missouri Humanities Council has extended support to the State Historical Society of Missouri and the Western Historical Manuscripts Collection in their leadership and coordination of student activities for the National History Day competition. In 2006, the Governor’s Humanities Awards ceremony began to include recognition of the student winners at the state level, and their teachers. Competing against more than 2,400 students from around the country, ten Missouri students made it to the final round at National History Day. Chi Zeng, Chris Ghan, Dee Luo and Xiaoya Wu all placed in their respective categories.

In four years of competition, Chris Ghan has been a state bronze medalist and two-time state champion, representing Missouri at National History Day. In the 2008 national competition, he won the third place bronze medal for his portrayal of Benjamin Franklin in “Spirit of Liberty: Benjamin Franklin and Slavery.” His 2006 state-winning portrayal of President Harry Truman also garnered the Arvah Strickland Award for African American History. Chris is a 2008 graduate of Columbia’s Rock Bridge High School and currently a freshman at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, where he is pursuing a double major in English and Religious Studies with a minor in Classical Studies.

Dee Luo moved from Wuhan, China to Illinois when she was five years old and then to St. Louis when she was eleven. She has always been entertained by the “seemingly surreal yet realistic world of literature,” especially the works of Mark Twain, her topic for her National History Day project which placed third nationally. Researching for her National History Day projects has helped her learn the power of words. Dee is also a member of the Clayton High School symphonic orchestra and is an avid dancer.

Xiaoya Wu is a freshman at Clayton High School. She has competed in National History Day for two years and competed this year with partner, Dee Luo. She is very proud of their accomplishment of placing third in the nation with their exhibit entitled “Twin Twain: The Conflict and Compromise Between Samuel Clemens and Mark Twain.” Xiaoya also enjoys performing with her school’s symphony orchestra and is an avid reader.

Chi Zeng is a junior at Clayton High School. Last year, he channeled his passion for web design and his interest in Sino-American relations into his National History Day website entry “Compromise Across a 23-Year Ocean of Conflict: Nixon’s Legendary 1972 Visit to China,” which won the national NHD senior website category. In his free time, when he is not busy building websites and tackling the rigors of high school, Chi loves to sing opera and swim.