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Mark your calendars! The Illinois State Historical Society will host its 124th Annual Meeting this year at the Hoogland Center for the Arts in Springfield on April 29, 2023. At this time, the ISHS will recognize the ISHS's "Best of Illinois History" award recipients for 2023. Twenty-nine remarkable nominees will be honored and awarded for their outstanding achievements and publications on Illinois history.

This issue of Illinois Heritage offers a snapshot of the “Best of Illinois History” ceremony, where we gave out more than 35 awards, including three Lifetime Achievements awards, the Olive Foster Teacher of the Year award, and the new Russell L. Lewis Jr. Young Museum Professional award. We also take a look at Ulysses S. Grant, the soldier from Galena who led the Union Army to victory in the Civil War and became the nation’s 18th President. In this two-part retrospective, we see Grant through the eyes of the soldiers who served under him along the way.

For over seventy-five years, the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) has given Leadership in History Awards to establish and encourage standards of excellence in the collection, preservation, and interpretation of state and local history in order to make the past more meaningful to all people. Nominations for AASLH's Leadership in History Awards are due March 1.

The Illinois State Historical Society’s 2021 Centennial Business Awards luncheon has been postponed until 2022. Unfortunately, the resurgence of the COVID 19 virus and its Delta variant has forced us to reconsider a public gathering that could impact the health of your employees, our membership, and the public at large.

Charlotte E. Johnson, Alton, has received the 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Illinois State Historical Society (ISHS). The award was presented via Zoom on Friday, April 23, with ISHS Director William Furry and Cindy Reinhardt of the Madison County Historical Society (MCHS) delivering the award to her home Tuesday. MCHS nominated Johnson for the award which is given to individuals for sustained and varied contributions to state and local history.