STEVENS POINT –The Portage County Historical Society (PCHS) honored those working to preserve local history during their annual awards reception held April 11 at Mission Coffee House in Plover.

The awards seek to recognize those who have made significant contributions to local history preservation and education in different ways.

The Anton Anday Volunteer Service Award

This award is given to dedicated volunteers of the Portage County Historical Society.

Named after late PCHS board member and Heritage Park Site Curator Anton Anday, this award began last year after Anday’s passing in honor of his commitment to PCHS.

This year’s recipients were Paul and Sue Koehl.

The Koehls have been involved with PCHS since 2017, when they helped stage the organization’s World War I exhibit and continued with a subsequent World War II exhibit.

More recently, Sue is a committee leader for the society’s upcoming exhibit, “We Just Wanted to Play: The Story of Women’s Athletics in Portage County,” while Paul has been a driving force behind the renovations and updates to the main exhibit space at Heritage Park

The Win Rothman Award

This award was established in 1977 in memory of Win Rothman who was an early supporter and board member of PCHS.

The award, which carries a cash prize of $500, is given to someone who has made a significant contribution through the presentation of Portage County history.

This year’s recipient is Jen Brilowski, who manages a social media project called “Point of the Past.”

This project brings the stories of those buried at Stevens Point’s Forest Cemetery to light and promotes the preservation and restoration of grave markers.

The Pine and Iron Award

This award is the highest honor that PCHS bestows and is given to those who have made a significant contribution to the preservation of Portage County History.

This year, the board of directors selected Bill Schierl and Sarena Melotte for their immense commitment to saving historic buildings in Stevens Point.

Bill and Sarena started their preservation work with the Claflin House on the corner of Main and Division in 2016 and have now done restoration work on nearby 1640-41 Main Street, The Moen House at 1656 Main Street and a storefront downtown at 1040 Main Street.

They were also instrumental in the transformation of the Altenburg Building into the Central City Market on Madison Street.

For more information on the awards, visit pchswi.org/awards or contact PCHS Executive Director John Harry at [email protected]