PEORIA, IL— Peoria Riverfront Museum, previously Lakeview Museum of Art and Sciences is the recipient of an Award of Merit from the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) Leadership in History Awards. The AASLH Leadership in History Awards, now in its 68th year, is the most prestigious recognition for achievement in the preservation and interpretation of state and local history.

Channy Lyons, local Peoria historian, served as guest curator of the exhibition for Lakeview Museum. Lakeview Museum hosted the exhibition from October 1, 2011 through April 15, 2012. The exhibition then traveled to the Quincy Arts Center and the Tarble Arts Center at Easter Illinois University in Charleston, IL.

This year, AASLH is proud to confer eighty-eight national awards honoring people, projects, exhibits, books, and organizations. The winners represent the best in the field and provide leadership for the future of state and local history. Presentation of the awards will be made at a special banquet during the 2013 AASLH Annual Meeting in Birmingham, Alabama, on Friday, September 20. The banquet is supported by a generous contribution from the History Channel.

The AASLH awards program was initiated in 1945 to establish and encourage standards of excellence in the collection, preservation, and interpretation of state and local history throughout the United States. The AASLH Leadership in History Awards not only honor significant achievement in the field of state and local history, but also brings public recognition of the opportunities for small and large organizations, institutions, and programs to make contributions in this arena.