SANDUSKY — Megan Steffen, the board president for the Ashland County Historical Society, said she was surprised when the society won three awards of excellence at the Ohio Museum Association’s Annual Conference.
The conference recognized museums of all sizes, from all over the state between April 13-15.
Steffen said, in some categories, the competition was stiff, including museums like the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.
But, at the end of it all, the Ashland County Historical Society took home honors for the following categories:
- Best Exhibit for a museum with an operating budget under $500,000
- Best Community Partnership
- Best Visual Communication
The best exhibit honors came from a display of dresses worn by State Rep. Melanie Miller during her year as Miss Ohio. Steffen said the display of Miller’s dresses became a stop for Miss Ohio contestants when they competed for the title in Mansfield last summer.
As for the best community partnership, a collaboration with Ohio Fire and the museum to host trivia nights on Tuesdays won.
For the visual communication honors, a newsletter the Ashland County Historical Society puts together received the nod from the Ohio Museum Association.
For Steffen, the ACHS board president, the collaboration with Ohio Fire was one she was especially excited about. She said people sometimes hold a misconception that history isn’t interesting, and the museum’s exhibits are all old. Not true, Steffen said.
“Our tagline is, ‘Come be a part of history,’ because we’re making history every day,” Steffen said.
She added that between new exhibits like Miller’s dresses, and community outreach with schools or projects like the Ohio Fire trivia nights, the historical society keeps history exciting.
“We don’t just want to be a standstill museum,” Steffen said. “We’re always trying to stay relevant.”
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