06/03/2026
Congratulations to our Executive Director, Tommy Hines, for receiving the Ida Lee Willis Memorial Award for 2026. The award is granted each year by the Ida Lee Willis Memorial Foundation and the Kentucky Heritage Council to someone who has made an impact in the field of historic preservation. The citation reads, "For his exceptional leadership and unwavering commitment to the preservation, interpretation, and operation of South Union Shaker Village, and for his dedication to promoting cultural and architectural heritage through civic and volunteer involvement, and for inspiring a deeper public appreciation of historic places through visionary stewardship."
Besides his work at South Union Shaker Village, Tommy serves on the boards of Landmark Trust, Green River Academy Historic Site, the Kentucky Historical Society, Communal Studies Association, Green River Museum, and Old Salem Museum and Gardens in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He has presented on Kentucky history and Southern decorative arts for the Speed Art Museum, the Decorative Arts Trust, the Frist Art Museum, Colonial Williamsburg, and the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts.
