VPHA Names 2024 Heritage Hero and Educators of the Year

UPPERVILLE, VA — On March 11, the Virginia Piedmont Heritage Area will host its annual Heritage Hero awards ceremony at Buchanan Hall in Upperville, Virginia. Since 2007, the distinction of “Heritage Hero” has been awarded to local citizens and organizations that have made an important contribution or lifetime of contributions to the Virginia Piedmont Heritage Area. Their selfless efforts as stewards make them Heritage Heroes. In addition to the Heritage Hero award, the Public Educator of the Year award will be presented on the same evening.

The 2024 Heritage Hero award will posthumously honor Carol Lee of Willisville, Virginia. A third-generation resident of this historic village, Lee delivered a wealth of service to her community and the Heritage Area at large throughout her life. As the founder of the Willisville Preservation Foundation, Lee enjoyed a record of success in bringing the history of her community to the forefront, and her hard work led to Willisville’s listing on the Virginia and National Register of Historic Places. A fierce advocate for the village, she was recognized as Willisville’s mayor for over 20 years and has been instrumental in seeing it preserved for its rich historical significance. In the last few years, her work has also led to the creation of a historic landmark road marker, which has been visited and read by thousands of travelers along Route 50 since its installation in 2021. As coauthor of the book “A Path Through Willisville,” Lee created a comprehensive history of the village, its families, and its legacy. It is because of her hard work and dedication that this vital Piedmont community remains preserved for future generations. Lee passed in December of 2024, and we will be ever-grateful for her important work in the Heritage Area. The award will be accepted by members of her family on her behalf.

The Public Educator of the Year award is given each year in recognition of a person or group for their commitment to sharing the history of the Heritage Area with a wider audience. Education lies at the heart of VPHA’s mission. For many years, its guiding philosophy has been that the best way to get people to care about Virginia’s extraordinary landscape has been to teach them about its extraordinary history. Each year, VPHA’s educational programming reaches thousands of students and families across all five counties of the Heritage Area, instilling a sense of curiosity about the past and an appreciation for our shared heritage in the next generation of historic preservationists. It is a tremendous responsibility, and one that would be impossible without the organization’s many partnerships. Each year, VPHA recognizes these partnerships and honors those who exemplify the commitment to sharing our local history and to keeping this history alive for future generations.

The 2024 Educator of the Year award honors Laura Channing and Erin Curry, librarians at Stone Bridge High School in Ashburn. Together they have taken the initiative to create a series of artifact trunks chronicling multiple eras of American history. Inside each trunk are original and reproduction items and documents, along with lesson plans and links to digital resources that help bring history to life. Covering topics ranging from the Vietnam War to the American Revolution, these trunks will be available to educators throughout Loudoun County, offering students a hands-on opportunity to learn more about our nation’s past. VPHA staff have been thrilled to work with them over the past year, collecting artifacts, offering advice, and providing itineraries relating the lessons to locations here in the community.

Featured photo: Willisville Preservation Foundation board of directors. Courtesy of the Willisville Preservation Foundation.

Posted on: February 18, 2025