2026 ECW Civil War Round Table of the Year Award: Honorable Mentions

In many of our other annual awards we have announced both the winner as well as an honorable mention or runner up. Since we revived the ECW Civil War Round Table of the Year Award this year, we thought it appropriate to highlight several groups that submitted award packages, but did not win the award. Each of these round tables is doing some great things that deserve to be celebrated and used as exemplars on what Civil War Round Tables are doing to reach a wider audience with more purpose.

Each group is listed in alphabetical order and these are only a couple of the many things each group is doing that were included in their nomination packages:

Bull Run Civil War Round Table: This organization actively engages young people by sponsoring an essay contest for local high schoolers, with the winner receiving a scholarship. Other groups across the country do similar activity with nearby secondary and university students, but Bull Run Civil War Round Table is expanding this further by creating a local tour based on and given by this year’s winner. Besides this, the group also actively consults and advises on local historical initiatives ranging from questions of data center expansions near historic sites to preservation of earthworks on public grounds.

Mid-Ohio Valley Civil War Round Table: Besides their traditional meetings, Mid-Ohio Valley Civil War Round Table has two things that makes them distinct. First, they host an annual History in the Park event each year, a public event with exhibitors from local historical groups, museums, and small businesses. Secondly, they sponsor a local historical marker program and had to date funded and installed 8 Civil War era related markers across the local area so everyone passing by can learn more about local history where it actually happened.

Roanoke Civil War Round Table: This organization takes mutual marketing to a level beyond any we have seen. They regularly forward information to, speak with, and coordinate with local public schools, private schools, colleges, universities, museums, and non-profits. They regularly promote the work of others while having others promote theirs. They also encourage educators and their students to attend meetings or to host their activity in efforts to reach students and younger audiences. The Roanoke Civil War Round Table also pursues local land preservation projects that continue today.

Scottsdale Civil War Roundtable: One of the great things Scottsdale Civil War Roundtable does is partner with the local library. Their meetings are at the Scottsdale Civic Center Library Auditorium to facilitate larger audiences. They also invite the general public to their meetings by promoting everything through the library in a partnership. Other organizations have dome similar activity hosting meetings at local libraries, historic sites, or universities, and it is worth pointing out that Scottsdale’s way of doing this is working well. They also host a second monthly discussion group where some members gather and have their own interactive debates about historical topics.

Tallahassee History Roundtable: First organized in 2014, this group is relatively new and has held only virtual meetings since Covid. What makes them stand out however is that they meet at least once each week, and have done so for the past 583 consecutive weeks. Many of their topics focus on the Civil War, but their frequency of meetings allows for a host of topics from many eras and geographies. The Tallahassee History Roundtable is a great example of how virtual meetings can challenge the dynamics of the traditional monthly meeting.

Tennessee Valley Civil War Round Table: This organization offers more than traditional monthly meeting as well in the hopes of fostering better camaraderie between members and in attracting new members. One thing the Tennessee Valley Civil War Round Table does to attract new members is they host a 6-week continuing education course at the University of Alabama -Huntsville’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. For current members, they have also recently started a wargaming night. This time is not during a normal meeting, but in addition to those, and they allow for round table members to join together and have some hands-on fun exploring the different Civil War era themed war games. Great ideas to both attract audiences and keep them engaged.

Notice that most all of these efforts go beyond the concept of a traditional monthly meeting. These round tables are demonstrating sustainability through effective marketing, inter-organizational partnerships, and expanded thoughts of what meetings can be. Not everything will work for every organization, but these groups are each doing unique things that demonstrate the importance of Civil War Round Tables across the country, and indeed the globe. For that, they each deserve an honorable mention celebrating their accomplishments and activities.