Historical Society of Michigan 5815 Executive Dr. Lansing, MI 48911 Contact: Nancy Feldbush (517) 324-1828 <mailto:hsm@hsmichigan.org> hsm@hsmichigan.org For Immediate Release Michigan History Conference comes to STURGIS September 21-23, 2018 The Historical Society of Michigan announces that its 144th Annual Meeting and Michigan History Conference will be held in Sturgis, Michigan, on Sept. 21-23, 2018. The Michigan History Conference (formerly called the State History Conference) celebrates all aspects of Michigan's history and moves to a different location each year to also explore that area's heritage. The main sessions of the conference will take place at the Sturges-Young Auditorium & Civic Center, and other events will be held at venues throughout the city. The lead sponsors of this year's conference are The Meijer Foundation and the Sturgis Area Community Foundation Newell A. & Grace A. Franks Fund. Please note: the hotel room rate guarantee ends on September 1. Standard Registration for the conference ends on September 9. In addition, the State History Awards are presented during the conference. Each year, the Historical Society of Michigan presents a State History Award to those individuals and organizations that have made outstanding contributions to the appreciation and understanding of Michigan history. The three-day conference includes four keynotes - Legends and Lore of the Great Sauk Trail, Of Icebergs and Inquires: Michiganders on the Titanic, At the Depot: The Making of a Museum, and Colon: Magic Capital of the World. Also offered are breakout sessions; workshops; tours; the President's Reception, where the State History Awards for books will be presented; the State History Awards Banquet, where the State History Awards for all categories, except books, will be presented; the Closing Banquet; exhibitor tables; and networking opportunities. Conference topics include Native-American birch-bark booklets, local archaeology, Amish communities in Southwestern Michigan, the 11th Michigan infantry, women's suffrage, the Michigan-Indiana border dispute, and more. Standard registration for the Michigan History Conference ends Sept. 9, 2018. Late registration takes place Sept. 10-14, 2018. After Sept. 14, 2018, registrations will be available only at the door and meal tickets will not be available. <http://hsmichigan.org/conferences/annual-state-history-conference/> Interested parties can register online at hsmichigan.org, by phone at (800) 692-1828, by fax or by mail. <https://hsmichigan.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Michigan-History-Conferen ce-online.pdf> Registration details and full session descriptions are available in the conference brochure. The conference is also sponsored by Abbott Nutrition, Burr Oak Tool & Oak Press Solutions, the City of Sturgis, Designs by Vogt's, Glen Oaks Community College, GT Independence, River Country Tourism Council, the St. Joseph County Commission on Aging and Sturgis Bank & Trust Company. The Historical Society of Michigan also produces three additional conferences: the Michigan in Perspective: The Local History Conference is held annually in the spring in the Wayne/Oakland/Macomb Tri-County area; the Upper Peninsula History Conference, which is held in June, pays particular attention to U.P. history topics; and the Michigan History AllianceT History Skills Boot CampT is a full day of history-related workshops and held in November. The Historical Society of Michigan is the state's oldest cultural organization, founded in 1828 by territorial governor Lewis Cass and explorer Henry Schoolcraft. A nongovernmental nonprofit, the Society focuses on publications, conferences, education, awards and recognition programming, and support for local history organizations to preserve and promote Michigan's rich history. # # # This e-mail is sent to our members and friends to keep you updated on historical activities and opportunities to learn more about our state's history. To opt-out, please respond to this e-mail with "remove" in the subject line. If you received this e-mail as part of your participation in the Michlib-l mailing list (listserv), please follow their removal process.