<div dir="ltr"><div><div style="line-height:1.71429;margin:0px 0px 1.71429rem;font-family:"Times New Roman",Times,serif;font-size:11pt;color:rgb(0,0,0)">The SOA Membership & Awards Committee seeks nominations for the 2026 <b><a id="m_5120444108858308232OWAd0d42455-5338-655f-f9ad-d723fe25a836" href="https://ohioarchivists.org/committees/membership-awards/merit_award/" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(33,117,155);margin:0px">Society of Ohio Archivists Merit Award</a></b>.</div><div style="line-height:1.71429;margin:0px 0px 1.71429rem;font-family:"Times New Roman",Times,serif;font-size:11pt;color:rgb(0,0,0)">The award is given to individuals or organizations that have by excellence in deeds, actions, or initiatives improved the state of archives in Ohio over the past year. The award will be announced at the SOA and MAC Joint <a id="m_5120444108858308232OWA5252edae-4a0d-b666-0aeb-3f34df49769d" href="https://ohioarchivists.org/annual_conference/" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(33,117,155);margin:0px">Annual Meeting</a>, which will be held on May 14-16, 2026, at the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.</div><div style="line-height:1.71429;margin:0px 0px 1.71429rem;font-family:"Times New Roman",Times,serif;font-size:11pt;color:rgb(0,0,0)">A fillable PDF <a rel="noopener" id="m_5120444108858308232OWAe2f993ba-9e01-3cf8-5588-3910d0737f34" href="https://ohioarchivists.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/2026-MeritAwardNomination.docx.pdf" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(33,117,155);margin:0px">Merit Award nomination form</a> is available to download. The <a rel="noopener" id="m_5120444108858308232OWAa795b5b2-7a90-0346-cc31-5165ccb36f3d" href="https://ohioarchivists.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/2026_Rubric_SOAMeritAward.docx.pdf" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(33,117,155);margin:0px">Merit Award rubric</a> is available for your reference. <b>Deadline to apply is March 13, 2026.</b></div><div style="line-height:1.71429;margin:0px 0px 1.71429rem;font-family:"Times New Roman",Times,serif;font-size:11pt;color:rgb(0,0,0)">Nominations should include the following information:</div><ul style="margin:0px 0px 1.71429rem;padding-left:0px;list-style-position:outside"><li style="margin:0px 0px 0px 2.57143rem;font-family:"Times New Roman",Times,serif;font-size:11pt;color:rgb(0,0,0)">Name of nominee;</li><li style="margin:0px 0px 0px 2.57143rem;font-family:"Times New Roman",Times,serif;font-size:11pt;color:rgb(0,0,0)">Nominee’s employer or institution;</li><li style="margin:0px 0px 0px 2.57143rem;font-family:"Times New Roman",Times,serif;font-size:11pt;color:rgb(0,0,0)">Nominee’s mailing address, phone number, and email address;</li><li style="margin:0px 0px 0px 2.57143rem;font-family:"Times New Roman",Times,serif;font-size:11pt;color:rgb(0,0,0)">Brief reason for nomination;</li><li style="margin:0px 0px 0px 2.57143rem;font-family:"Times New Roman",Times,serif;font-size:11pt;color:rgb(0,0,0)">The nominator’s contact information so that the awards committee may contact you for additional information.</li></ul><div style="line-height:1.71429;margin:0px 0px 1.71429rem;font-family:"Times New Roman",Times,serif;font-size:11pt;color:rgb(0,0,0)">See the <a id="m_5120444108858308232OWAd5dee99e-d3c0-e88a-4511-dbb0c37bb98d" href="https://ohioarchivists.org/committees/membership-awards/merit_award/#awardees" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(33,117,155);margin:0px">list of past awardees</a> on the <a id="m_5120444108858308232OWA36b8b92f-2f1f-5107-9333-690aea09085b" href="https://ohioarchivists.org/committees/membership-awards/merit_award/" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(33,117,155);margin:0px">Merit Award page</a>.</div><div style="line-height:1.71429;margin:0px 0px 1.71429rem;font-family:"Times New Roman",Times,serif;font-size:11pt;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><i>Applications and inquiries can be emailed to Membership & Awards Committee co-chairs <a id="m_5120444108858308232OWA562fe4d3-1e28-e709-2282-23e269eb2cc3" href="mailto:sshreffler1@udayton.edu" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(33,117,155);margin:0px">Stephanie Shreffler</a> and <a id="m_5120444108858308232OWAb6da557d-562c-c56c-2fc4-a1be65306b15" href="mailto:julia.teran@case.edu" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(33,117,155);margin:0px">Julia Teran</a>.</i></div><br class="gmail-Apple-interchange-newline"></div><div><br></div><span class="gmail_signature_prefix">-- </span><br><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr">Stephanie Shreffler (she/her/hers)</div><div dir="ltr"><div>Religious Collections Librarian/Archivist and Associate Professor</div><div>U.S. Catholic Special Collection and Marian Library</div><div>University Libraries, University of Dayton</div><div><a href="mailto:sshreffler1@udayton.edu" target="_blank">sshreffler1@udayton.edu</a></div><div>(937) 229-4262</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>