SEMC Announces the 2025 Competition Winners and Leadership Award Recipients

October 13 | 2025

Announcing the 2025 Competition Winners and Leadership Award Recipients

Dear SEMC Members,

In another year of transition for our southeastern museum community, it is a joy to celebrate the museums and museum practitioners who continue to meet change with resilience, creativity, courage, and grace. From forward-thinking, inclusive exhibitions to brilliantly designed publications and social media campaigns that made us pause and take notice, the 2025 Competition winners have created projects that inspire and truly deserve recognition.

The five 2025 Award recipients have also distinguished themselves in remarkable ways, whether through decades of dedicated service or powerful contributions in recent years. We honor their leadership, empathy, inclusivity, professional excellence, and unwavering commitment to the museums and communities they serve. We look forward to celebrating them together at the 2025 Awards Luncheon in Montgomery next week!

Congratulations to all of this year’s competition winners and award recipients. SEMC is so proud of your accomplishments, and we are grateful for the ways you continue to strengthen and inspire our field.

With appreciation,

Zinnia Willits

SEMC Executive Director

Under $10,000 Budget

Gold: Moundville Archaeological Park, Learning from the Ancestors: Historical Influences on Contemporary Native Art

Silver: Longwood Center for the Visual Arts, Choose Your Own Adventure

Bronze: Alabama Museum of Natural History, Excavating Erasure: Jefferson Davis Jackson

Honorable Mention: Georgia Museum of Art, Waffle House Vistas

Under $25,000 Budget

Gold: Historic Columbia, Heat and Hardship: The Hidden Labor of Enslaved Cooks

Silver: The Historic New Orleans Collection, Unknown Sitters

Bronze: Shadows-on-the-Teche, A Picture, Unbroken

Honorable Mention: Center for Puppetry Arts, Affectionate Anarchy: Creating with Jim Henson

Over $25,000 Budget

Gold: Western Carolina University Fine Art Museum, At the Table

Silver: Blowing Rock Art and History Museum, The Hard Edge & The Soft Line: A Retrospective of Maud Gatewood

Bronze: Museum of History and Holocaust Education at Kennesaw State University, Save One Life: Resistance During the Holocaust

Honorable Mention: Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience, Inc., Thank You Please Come Again: How Gas Stations Feed & Fuel the American South

Over $100,000 Budget

Gold: The Historic New Orleans Collection, Captive State: Louisiana and the Making of Mass Incarceration

Silver: The Columbus Museum, Chattahoochee Rhythms

Bronze: Artis—Naples, Entangled in the Mangroves: Florida Everglades Through Installation

Honorable Mention: The Mint Museum, Southern/Modern: Rediscovering Southern Art from the First Half of the Twentieth Century

Thank you to the 2025 Exhibition Competition Chair and Jurors:

Michelle Schulte (Chair), Chief Curator of Collections and Exhibitions, LSU Museum of Art at the Shaw Center for the Arts, Baton Rouge, LA

2025 Exhibition Competition Jurors:

Natalie Mault Mead, Chief Curator, Huntsville Museum of Art, Huntsville, AL
Barbara McClendon, Curator of Exhibitions, McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture, Knoxville, TN
Raka Nandi, Director of Exhibitions and Collections, Memphis Museum of Science and History, Memphis, TN
Chase Tomlin, Associate Curator, The National WWII Museum, New Orleans, LA

Category: Best in Show

To Be Announced at SEMC2025!

Category: Annual Reports

Gold: Scott Family Amazeum - Growing Curiosity: 2023-2024 Impact Report

Silver: The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Arts at Auburn University - The Jule Museum: 2024 Year in Review

Bronze: Alexandria Museum of Art - AMoA Annual Report 2024

Category: Book & Catalogs

Gold – Mississippi Museum of Art - Of Salt and Spirit

Silver – North Carolina Museum of Art - Grace Hartigan: The Gift of Attention

Bronze – Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville - A Walk on the Wildside: '70s New York in the Norman E. Fisher Collection

Category: Brochures and Rack Cards

Gold – Customs House Museum and Cultural Center - Exhibitions Brochures

Silver – Georgia Museum of Art - "Feel the Beat" rack card

Bronze – The Breman Museum - Where y'all get its Chutzpah

Category: Campaigns

Gold – The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Arts at Auburn University - 5th Annual Director's Dinner

Silver – Hunter Museum of American Art – Terrace at Twilight Campaign

Bronze – Georgia Museum of Art - Georgia Museum of Art rebranding

Bronze - LSU Museum of Art - Geaux See Art - Museum Geauxer Campaign

Category: Gallery Guides

Gold – Hunter Museum of American Art – City as Canvas Family Guide

Silver – Hunter Museum of American Art - Walk This Way Family Guide

Bronze – The Mint Museum – Women of Land and Smoke Exhibition Booklet

Category: Invitations

Gold – Customs House Museum & Cultural Center – Exhibit Receptions Bundle

Silver – The Mint Museum – Coveted Couture Gala

Bronze – The Marco Island Historical Society – Saturday Night Fever: A Disco Extravaganza

Category: Magazines & Newsletters

Gold – Georgia Museum of Art – Facet Newsletter

Silver – LSU Museum of Art- Art Talk Newsletter

Bronze – The Mint Museum - Inspired, The Mint Museum Magazine

Category: Mailers & Calendars of Events

Gold – The Mint Museum - School and Tour Programs

Silver – Drayton Hall Preservation Trust - Appeal Mailer

Bronze – Customs House Museum & Cultural Center - Sundays at 3:00

Category: Posters

Gold – Customs House Museum & Cultural Center – Juneteenth Poster

Silver – Mississippi Department of Archives and History – Makers Fest 2025

Bronze – Customs House Museum & Cultural Center – Snowflake Special Poster

Thank you to the 2025 Publication Competition Chair and Jurors:

Christian Edwards (Chair), Assistant Keeper, NC Collection Gallery, UNC, Raleigh, NC

2025 Publication Competition Jurors:

Linda Jacobson, Keeper, NC Collection Gallery, UNC
Rachel Reynolds, Exhibitions Coordinator, Wilson Library, UNC
Annika Dunja, UNC Senior, Media & Journalism / Business Administration Major
Claire Scott Stevens, UNC Senior, Public Policy Major

Category: Digital Education - $1,001-$4,999

Gold: The National WWII Museum, Making Volunteer Training More Accessible

Category: Digital Marketing - Under $1,000

Silver: Customs House Museum & Cultural Center, Invisible Art for April Fool's Day

Category: Digital Marketing - $1,001-$4,999

Gold: Customs House Museum & Cultural Center, Rockin' Clarksville Development Campaign

Silver: Customs House Museum & Cultural Center, Art in Bloom E-vite

Category: Digital Marketing - $5,000-$9,999

Gold: Customs House Museum & Cultural Center, Blog

Category: Digital Marketing - Over $10,000

Gold: The Historic New Orleans Collection, The Historic New Orleans Collection Website Redesign

Silver: The Mint Museum, The Mint Museum Store Website

Bronze: Customs House Museum & Cultural Center, Pop the Bubbly at Flying High 2025 Development Campaign

Category: Gallery Installations - Under $1,000

Silver: Customs House Museum & Cultural Center, Noel Night Digital Sign

Category: Gallery Installations - $1,001-$4,999

Gold: The Historic New Orleans Collection, Making It Home: From Vietnam to New Orleans Oral History Table

Silver: Customs House Museum & Cultural Center, Art in Bloom Digital Sign

Category: Gallery Installations - Over $10,000

Gold: Hunter Museum of American Art, Mansion Porch Interactive

Silver: Customs House Museum & Cultural Center, Flying High, The Museum at 40 Digital Sign

Category: Media Production - Under $1,000

Silver: The Historic New Orleans Collection, A Deliberate Retreat: New Orleans’ Shifting Jails Video

Category: Media Production - $1,001-$4,999

Gold: The Historic New Orleans Collection, Making It Home: From Vietnam to New Orleans Lantern Video Projection

Silver: Hunter Museum of American Art, A Day in the Life Video

Bronze: Hunter Museum of American Art, Spectrum Sponsor Introductions

Category: Media Production - $5,000-$9,999

Gold: The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at Auburn University, Annual Director's Dinner Video Presentation: Artist Binh Danh

Silver: Blowing Rock Museum of Art and History, The Hard Edge & The Soft Line: A Retrospective of Maud Gatewood Digital Catalog

Category: Media Production - Over $10,000

Gold: Mississippi Museum of Art, Under Yazoo Clay Podcast

Category: Virtual Media - Under $1,000

Gold: Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Freedom Summer Shorts Campaign

Silver: The Wolfsonian-Florida International University, What's On The Menu: Destination Dining Instagram Reel

Bronze: Georgia Museum of Art, Instagram Slideshows

Category: Virtual Media - $1,001 - $4,999

Gold: The Historic New Orleans Collection, In Their Words: Captive State Incarceration Testimonials

Silver: The Historic New Orleans Collection, Pham-Vu Family Journey: How One Family Made It Home

Bronze: The Mint Museum, Southern/Modern Exhibition Social Media Campaign

Category: Virtual Media - Over $10,000

Gold: Hunter Museum of American Art, New Hunter Museum Website

Silver: The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at Auburn University, "The Curious" Student Awareness Campaign

Many thanks to the 2025 Technology Competition Chair and Jurors:

Scott Warren (Chair), Historic Site Manager II, President James K. Polk State Historic Site, Pineville, NC

2025 Technology Competition Jurors:

Scotty Almany (Jury Foreman), Deputy Director of Operations and Project Management, Taubman Museum of Art, Roanoke, VA
Isabelle Britto (Juror), Associate Curator, International African American Museum, Charleston, SC
Faith Plazarin (Juror), Archivist and Records Manager, Jekyll Island Museum, Jekyll Island, GA
Joshua Watson (Juror), Chief Information Officer, Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Jackson, MS

Congratulations to the 2025 SEMC Award Recipients!

SEMC will celebrate the award recipients at the

2025 Awards Luncheon

October 22, 2025, 12:00 pm CST

The Renaissance Montgomery Hotel

Read the SEMC 2025 Awards Announcement

2025 James R. Short Award

Elise V. LeCompte

Museum Consultant, Registrar, and Administrator (recently retired)

Florida Museum of Natural History; Adjunct Professor, University of Florida, and Johns Hopkins University Museum Studies Program

Gainesville, Florida

2025 Museum Leadership Award

Heather Hodges

Director of Institutional Advancement

The Historic New Orleans Collection

New Orleans, Louisiana

2025 Outstanding Service to the Museum Profession Award

Frank Lott

Executive Director

Customs House Museum & Cultural Center

Clarksville, Tennessee

2025 Distinguished Contributor Award

Theodore R. Debro, Jr.

Retired Deputy Director, Jefferson County Committee for Economic Opportunity (JCCEO); Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Sixteenth Street Baptist Church

Birmingham, Alabama

2025 Emerging Museum Professional Award

Patrick Martin

Visitor Services Coordinator

Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum

Atlanta, Georgia

Many thanks to the 2025 Awards Committee:

Michelle Schulte (Chair), Chief Curator and Director of Programs, LSU Museum of Art, Baton Rouge, LA
Matt Farah, Exhibitions Coordinator, The Historic New Orleans Collection, New Orleans, LA
Tamara Herring, Executive Director, Morris Center for Lowcountry Heritage, Ridgeland, SC

Congratulations to the 2025 SEMC Award Recipients!

SEMC 2025 Awards Luncheon

Join us in Montgomery as we honor the 2025 SEMC Award recipients and competition winners! This special event will celebrate the creativity, leadership, and dedication of museum professionals and institutions across the Southeast.

Wednesday, October 22, 2025

Renaissance Montgomery Hotel, Alabama B

12:00 pm - 1:30 pm CST

The Awards Luncheon is always a highlight of the Annual Meeting, a joyful opportunity to celebrate accomplishments, connect with peers, and cheer on the best of our field. Don’t miss this inspiring gathering that reminds us why we do what we do and applauds the achievements that make SEMC so proud. Register today!

We look forward to celebrating with you in Montgomery!

THANK YOU!!

We want you to know that we greatly appreciate your support through membership and will continue to work hard to provide training, virtual connection and resources to our southeastern museums community.