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September 23, 2020

Nominations are now open for the MotorCities National Heritage Area’s annual 2020 Awards of Excellence. 

On Wednesday, November 18, MotorCities will honor programs and projects who have distinguished themselves in the areas of auto and labor heritage with its 7th annual Awards of Excellence.

A winner in each of the three categories -- revitalization, education and tourism -- will be announced during the annual Michigan Auto Heritage Day, being conducted as a virtual event for the first time this year.

The deadline for the 2020 Awards of Excellence nominations is Friday, October 2. Self-nominations are accepted. 

Begin your nomination by clicking www.motorcities.org/awards-of-excellence.

Michigan Automotive Heritage Day & the Awards of Excellence began in 2014 and have become an annual opportunity to celebrate the story that can only be told in Michigan: How this area "Put The World On Wheels."

The 2019 winner of the Award of Excellence for Preservation was the Cherry Hill Veterans’ Dormitory in Canton, restored by the Partnership for the Arts and Humanities. An original Henry Ford Village Industry Factory and Dormitory, the complex will offer veterans programming – the same purpose it served when Ford opened the facility in the 1940s.

The Award of Excellence for Tourism went to Back to the Bricks of Flint, an annual event which paved the road for other organizations to turn toward the city of Flint to host their events downtown. The organization produces family-friendly automotive-themed events that reflect Flint’s auto heritage.

Finally, last year’s winner in the Interpretation & Education category was the SAE International’s Mobility History Committee of Troy, comprised of students, academics, business, industry, and retirees, which shares its extensive knowledge on transportation history through presentations, publications, media and outreach.