- Announced Annual Awards:
- Large Unit History Award Winner (with dedicated Public Affairs Staff): Commander, First Coast Guard District. The First District compiled an impressive array of accomplishments in remembrance of the history of the units that comprise the district. Aside from creating a District History and Heritage Plan, the staff hosted multiple outreach events, developed multimedia projects for online sharing, and made significant contributions to the national War of 1812 Bicentennial campaign. Most importantly for the judges, they focused heavily on internal audiences, sharing their history with their shipmates throughout the region.
- Large Unit History Award Winner (without dedicated Public Affairs Staff): Commander, Sector Buffalo. Sector Buffalo collaborated with the Buffalo Lighthouse Association and local congressional staff to renovate and open the 1833 Buffalo Lighthouse to the public, while maintaining an effective security perimeter. Additionally, Sector Buffalo, in cooperation with the Sector Buffalo Chiefs’ Mess and Lightship Sailors Association, funded and dedicated a memorial site for the wreck of the U.S. Lightship Service LV-82 at Point Albino, Ontario, Canada. Sector Buffalo also played a significant role in celebrating U.S. Coast Guard history and promoting current missions at the War of 1812 Bicentennial commemoration in Cleveland, Ohio, and Buffalo, New York.
- Small Unit History Award Winner: USCGC Richard Etheridge. The crew of the newly commissioned fast response cutter shared the story of the hero for whom their cutter was named through more than 20 print, radio, and television appearances. They hosted a two-day event bringing together authors and documentarians who have told the Etheridge story. They collaborated with several museums on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, where Etheridge served with the U.S. Life-Saving Service. The crew also collaborated with the cutter’s sponsor to acquire floorboards from the home of Adam Etheridge, where Richard lived as a young slave; these floorboards were converted into port and starboard name boards now used on the cutter.
- Book awards.
- Coast Guard Heritage: Dr. Dennis L. Noble, USCG (ret.), for his book The U.S. Coast Guard’s War on Human Smuggling. The judges described his book as an innovative, intensive look at one of the Coast Guard’s newest missions, a book on which all future titles on the subject will stand. They also cited his unprecedented contribution to the field of Coast Guard history.
- Alan Giagnocavos: A Close-up Look: A Tour of America’s Iconic Architecture Through Historic Photos and Detailed Drawings. The judges called this book a clear winner, offering a universal perspective through its review of 18 lighthouses, utilizing the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) and Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) files.
- Heritage Award:
- Jennifer Gaudio is the curator of the U.S. Coast Guard Museum, located at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. Ms. Gaudio led a $450,000 year-long redesign and renovation of the Coast Guard Museum. Apart from designing and installing exhibits, Ms. Gaudio ensured that the exhibits were not only appealing, engaging, and practical but also portable for potential future use in a new National Coast Guard Museum. To effect this change, Ms. Gaudio worked with a private design firm, cadets, staff, alumni, and the Auxiliary. She encouraged an increase in visitorship to the museum upon completion of the exhibits.
- William J. Nelson, USCG Auxiliary. Auxiliarist Nelson, assigned to the Atlantic Area staff, served as the principal War of 1812 historical research specialist detailed to the Atlantic Area Historian’s office and independently began research on the travails of Revenue Cutter Service prisoners of war taken during that war. Among his many accomplishments during the extended period of study was the innovative design of a portable exhibit carried on board the USCGC Eagle during its 2012 port calls.
- LT Galen Varon, USCG. During off-duty time, LT Varon codified the history of the 15 cutters that have been historically known as the Queen of the Fleet since 1896. He has developed individual websites for each one and brought them together under a standard webpage, http://www.the-royal-court.info. He has also written a 191-page manuscript on one of these cutters, USCGC Storis.
- Supported the CG Public Affairs Program and the Historian’s Office by chairing a meeting held to evaluate and baseline the current historical program, identify any shortcomings in the program, and offer suggestions for improvement. In attendance and providing input were CG history stakeholders, including professional historians, leaders of non-governmental USCG-related historical organizations, authors of USCG-related publications, and representatives from governmental and non-governmental museums. The group compiled a detailed description of the characteristics of the desired CG history program and developed a list of ten goals to achieve the desired end state. The goals were categorized into 1, 2, and 5-year groups. Broadly grouped, they focus on utilizing non-appropriated support, increasing the program’s visibility, and updating/developing new policies in support of the program.
- Worked with City of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, to develop three USCG-specific informational reader boards highlighting local CG history. Boards are part of a series installed in two waterfront parks. Regent CAPT Bob Desh, USCG (Ret.), researched historic photos and authored all text.
- Continued sponsorship of Coast Guard History Award to the Honor Graduate of each Chief Warrant Officer Professional Development Class.
- Published three issues of The Cutter, FCGH’s magazine.
