Secretary of State Cathy Cox presents Georgia Historical RecordsAdvisory Board Award for Excellence to David Williams, Teresa CrispWilliams and David Carlson

ATLANTA, GA Secretary of State Cathy Cox and Georgia Historical Records Advisory Board (GHRAB) Chairman R. Lee Kinnamon presented the GHRAB Award for Excellence in Research Using the Holdings of an Archives to David Williams, Teresa Crisp Williams, and David Carlson during the Second Annual GHRAB Archives Awards Ceremony on Monday, October 4th.

The GHRAB awards recognize outstanding efforts in archives and records work in Georgia. GHRAB selected the award winners for their historical records activities over the past eighteen months.

David Williams and Teresa Crisp Williams of Valdosta and David Carlson of Atlanta collaborated to publish Plain Folk in a Rich Man's War: Class and Dissent in Confederate Georgia. The authors extensively used archival holdings to tell the story of Georgia's Civil War home front. Their analysis springs from work in a wide variety of archives in the state of Georgia and elsewhere and relies heavily on manuscript sources and other rare materials. Plain Folk demonstrates what a dedicated team of researchers can accomplish by approaching archival holdings energetically and creatively. Reviewers have praised the quality and depth of the project's scholarship and its significant contribution to advancing our understanding of the social and political history of the Civil War.

Additional winners in the category of Research Using the Holdings of an Archives included Steve Oney, David Paterson, and Velma Maia Thomas.

GHRAB works to promote the educational use of Georgia's documentary heritage and to support efforts to improve the condition of records statewide. The Board is charged with advising the Governor, the Secretary of State, and the Georgia Archives on records and policy issues.

The Georgia Archives hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Directions are available at www.GeorgiaArchives.org. For additional information about GHRAB, please contact Elizabeth Aloi Barr at 678-364-3718 or ebarr@sos.state.ga.us.