[Tempe, AZ] — The Arizona Historical Society is proud to announce the recipients of the prestigious Al Mérito Award for 2024. Established in 1973, this award recognizes individuals and organizations that have made outstanding contributions to preserving and promoting Arizona’s rich history.
The Al Mérito Award, named after a nineteenth-century honor bestowed by the newly independent government of Mexico for meritorious service, translates to “for merit.” It represents the Arizona Historical Society’s highest honor, acknowledging those who serve as role models in the preservation and celebration of Arizona’s history.
Following a thorough review of all nominations, the AHS Board of Directors selects deserving individuals and organizations to receive the Al Mérito Award annually. The contributions of this year’s honorees exemplify the spirit of dedication and excellence that the award represents.
Catherine Ellis of Oracle was one of the recipients of this award.
Catherine’s volunteerism, done in the service of documenting and preserving history, is evidence of her dedication to the historical field. Catherine has assisted the Oracle Historical Society (OHS) for many years by documenting and organizing its collection of artifacts, books, documents and photographs. She has written articles for the OHS newsletter and contributed her significant knowledge to various OHS exhibits and displays related to this area’s rich history.
Catherine is also active with the Oracle Cemetery Association, Inc. (OCAI) as a volunteer and board member. She manages the OCAI grave registry and has placed more than 175 Oracle names on the Find-a-Grave website, linking names, adding photos, and creating memorials across the nation. She actively identifies unmarked graves, locates and marks unidentified gravesites, and obtains updated GPS information.
Catherine’s volunteerism and attention to accurate historic detail has been invaluable to OHS, OCAI, our community, and Arizona.
Other award winners are:
- Cave Creek Museum (Executive Director Kathy Dwyer): The Cave Creek Museum holds a singular place in the cultural fabric of the town of Cave Creek and its surrounding community. The museum is the caretaker of the archaeological footprints of the Hohokam and Salado peoples, post‒Civil War U.S. military campaigns, the hand-dug dreams of late-nineteenth-century treasure-seeking miners, hard-scrabble ranchers, health-seeking tubercular patients, Bureau of Reclamation dam builders, and twentieth-century desert dreamers. The Cave Creek Museum maintains an ongoing and vital relationship with the culture and tradition bearers, community stakeholders, visual storytellers, and history custodians of the Cave Creek/Carefree desert foothills. The Cave Creek Museum is truly a “living” history museum.
- Pioneers’ Cemetery Association: The Pioneers’ Cemetery Association (PCA) was founded in 1983 as a non-profit to support the preservation of the historic cemeteries located at 1317 W. Jefferson Street in Phoenix, Arizona. The mission of the PCA is to conserve and protect the historic physical remains, grave markers, artifacts, and buildings of Pioneer & Military Memorial Park and provide a safe, accessible community resource for present and future generations. PCA acknowledges, celebrates, and promotes Arizona’s pioneer history, represented by those interred in Arizona historic cemeteries, through research, education, conservation, preservation, and community engagement. Pioneers’ Cemetery Association continues to enrich their community and serve as a role model for the preservation of Arizona history.
- Raul and Gloria Jean Ramirez: Raised is Tucson’s westside barrios, Raul Ramirez is a husband, father, grandfather; former Los Descendientes Board President and Menlo Bark and Barrio Neighborhood Coalition President; and is still actively involved in barrio coalition building and establishing culturally relevant ecological spaces at the base of Sentinel Peak along the Santa Cruz River. He was instrumental in getting Barrio Sin Nombre official signage as well as more community power. During his tenure as Los Descendientes president, Raul lead the Historical Sites Preservation Committee, which handled the re-interment of remains when located during downtown development projects. Like her husband, Jean Ramirez is continuing her legacy of keeping Mexican American knowledge and culture alive. She trained alongside a master paper flower-maker, Josefina Lizarraga, and adorned the Mexican American Museum in Tucson with her unique flowers. Jean is a retired public-school teacher who taught on Tucson’s Southside and provided culturally relevant education with an emphasis on Mexican American, Indigenous, and local culture. Sr. and Sra. Ramirez are keystones in working with younger generations in Tucson to provide historical context to community needs, events, memories, and traditions when understanding our present realities.
- Shannon Rossiter: Shannon served as executive director of the Mohave County Historical Society (MCHS) for 22 years. Under his direction MCHS expanded from one small museum to four separate facilities. His efforts to interpret and disseminate Arizona history are on display in the many extensions and renovations he made to the museums. When Shannon started in January 2002, the Mohave Museum of History & Arts looked largely as it had at its opening in 1968. All that soon changed. Under his leadership, MCHS added a 3,000-square-foot research library and several new exhibit spaces. As executive director of MCHS, Shannon was the long-time steward of Mohave County history. He has ensured that the historical society remained an integral part of the community. MCHS would not where it is today without the leadership of Shannon Rossiter.
Since its inception, the Al Mérito Award has honored those who have gone above and beyond in their efforts to preserve Arizona’s history. The Arizona Historical Society is committed to recognizing the vital role that these individuals and organizations play in safeguarding the stories and legacies that shape our state.
Nominations for the 2025 Al Mérito Award will open in Spring 2025.
For more information about the award or this year’s winners, please contact AHS chief communications officer David Turpie at dturpie@azhs.gov or 520-617-1160.