ATHENS-Rebekah Davis, longtime former Limestone County Archivist, was honored with the 2024 Marvin
Yeomans Whiting Award. Named for a Birmingham Public Library archivist who helped pioneer the
profession in Alabama, the award recognizes significant contribution to the preservation and
dissemination of local Alabama history.
During her tenure at the county archives, Davis obtained a large grant to renovate the archives building,
began the Homegrown History Podcast, travelled Alabama as a road scholar for the Alabama Humanities
Foundation, contributed to scholarly professional writings, and served as president of the National
Association of Government Archives and Records Managers (NAGARA) and the Society of Alabama
Archivists (SALA). She worked with the Smithsonian to create an exhibit called ‘The Way Athens Works’
and has spent innumerable hours with school children encouraging them to connect with their local
history. Throughout her archives career her local history work and persistence has been honored with
four separate awards by Main Street Alabama and another two awards from the Alabama Bicentennial
Commission.
The Society of Alabama Archivists, founded in 1977, is an organization that supports the field of archives
and special libraries within the state of Alabama, its municipalities, its counties, its colleges and
universities, its military installations, its private businesses, and its many special topic archives and
museums.
Media Release/Keri Hallford, CA/Collections Archivist/Alabama Department of Archives and History
