Archives of the Burchfield Penney Art Center Wins State Archives Award

The New York State Archives and Archives Partnership Trust have awarded the Archives of the Burchfield Penney Art Center the 2016 Annual Archives Award for Program Excellence in a Historical Record Repository. This award is presented annually to an organization in the state that exemplifies excellence in an archival program. The award was presented to Curator and Manager of the Archives Tullis Johnson and Archivist Heather Gring at a ceremony at the Cultural Education Center in Albany recently.

This award recognizes the Archives of the Burchfield Penney Art Center for their outstanding work to collect, preserve, and provide access to materials that document the creative community in western New York, including maintaining the records of more than 2,700 regional artists and preserving and making accessible the records of regional arts organizations. Among this material are records relating to the artist and namesake of the Center, Charles Burchfield and organizations like The Buffalo Society of Artists, Artpark, and the Art Institute of Buffalo.

"Historical records repositories across the state have a wealth of documents and information that help tell the history of New York,” said Regent Roger Tilles. “Teachers and students can bring history to life with these records. The Annual Archives Awards is an opportunity to acknowledge the exemplary work that organizations and individuals do every day to maintain and preserve historical records and celebrate the outstanding work students have done to incorporate historical records in their research. Congratulations to all the winners."

“The Board of Regents and I congratulate the winners of the 2016 Archives Awards,” said State Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia. “By maintaining historical records we preserve our history for future generations. We urge the winners to continue their dedicated archives management work and encourage the student winners to continue using historical records in their research.”

“We are pleased to recognize the Archives of the Burchfield Penney Art Center for protecting and preserving the archival heritage of their region, thus enabling historians and educators to use these archives to help bring important history to life,” said State Archivist Thomas J. Ruller. “Through their efforts and those of other historical record repositories all over the state, the people of New York will have a far greater understanding of the Empire State’s past.”

The annual Archives Awards program takes place every year in October, during American Archives Month, and recognizes outstanding efforts in archives and records management work in New York State by a broad range of individuals and organizations.

A complete list of this year’s award recipients follows:
CHERYL STEINBACH ANNUAL ARCHIVES AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT RECORDS MANAGEMENT:

The Town of Dover (Dutchess County)

WILLIAM H. KELLY ANNUAL ARCHIVES AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT ARCHIVAL PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT:

City of Saratoga Springs (Saratoga County)

ANNUAL ARCHIVES AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN STATE AGENCY RECORDS MANAGEMENT PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT:

Statewide Financial System (Albany County)

ANNUAL ARCHIVES AWARD FOR PROGRAM EXCELLENCE IN A HISTORICAL RECORDS REPOSITORY:

Archives of the Burchfield Penney Art Center (Erie County)

DEBRA E. BERNHARDT ANNUAL ARCHIVES AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN DOCUMENTING NEW YORK’S HISTORY

Gay Alliance of the Genesee Valley (Monroe County)

EXCELLENCE IN THE EDUCATIONAL USE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT RECORDS BY A LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Town of Schodack (Rensselaer County)

BRUCE W. DEARSTYNE EDUCATOR AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN THE USE OF HISTORICAL RECORDS

Karen Harris (Teacher - Retired) and Stacey Rattner (School Library Media Specialist)
Castleton Elementary School, Schodack Central School District (Rensselaer County)

ANNUAL ARCHIVES AWARD FOR STUDENT RESEARCH USING HISTORICAL RECORDS GRADES 4 & 5:

Matthew Fagerheim, Homer Intermediate School, Homer Central School District; Teacher: Tracy Durkee (Cortland County)

ANNUAL ARCHIVES AWARD FOR STUDENT RESEARCH USING HISTORICAL RECORDS, GRADES 6-8:

Grace Sayward, Homeschooled, Teacher: Melissa Sayward (Clinton County)

ANNUAL ARCHIVES AWARD FOR STUDENT RESEARCH USING HISTORICAL RECORDS, GRADES 9-12:

Hailey Hansen, Tamarac Secondary School, Brunswick Central School District, Teacher: Michelle Furlong (Rensselaer County)