Tour Cayuga recognized seven partners and community leaders June 17 during its annual Where Tourism Meets Community luncheon at Emerson Park Pavilion on Owasco Lake.
The 2026 Commemorating America 250 Tourism Awards honored Cayuga County organizations and individuals whose work marks the 250th anniversary of the creation of the United States while highlighting local history, civic contribution and the county’s visitor economy.
“Cayuga County has always been a place where history lives and breathes, and this year’s America 250 award recipients embody that spirit in the most meaningful way,” Tour Cayuga Executive Director Courtney Kasper said in the announcement.
The award recipients included the Aurora Ledyard Historical Society, honored for its longstanding Fourth of July reading of the Declaration of Independence at Ledyard Town Hall and its use of an antique hand-operated printing press.
The Lock 52 Heritage Society and Old Mentz Heritage Center were recognized for the Founding Mothers’ Liberty Tea Party, a May 16 program featuring Lady Martha Washington portrayed by Town of Conquest Historian Joni Lincoln.
The City of Auburn Historic & Cultural Sites Commission was honored for its History’s Hometown America 250 grant program, which used a $30,000 allocation to support exhibitions, concerts, public history programs and special events tied to the anniversary.
Cayuga County Historian Ruth Bradley was recognized for work preserving and sharing county history and for helping steward $15,000 in New York State America 250 funding for local historical organizations and programs. Bradley also developed a program to plant white pine trees in honor of Indigenous peoples.
The Ward O’Hara Agricultural & Country Living Museum was honored for preserving Cayuga County’s agricultural history and connecting it to the nation’s founding story through displays on items and foods used in the 13 Colonies.
The Cayuga-Owasco Lakes Historical Society was recognized for its stewardship of Moravia-area history and the legacy of Millard Fillmore, the 13th president of the United States, who was born in Cayuga County.
Melody Smith Johnson was honored for civic leadership and community-building work in Auburn. Tour Cayuga said Johnson, who opened Melody’s in downtown Auburn in 2022, was the first Black woman to open a business in Cayuga County. The space supports female entrepreneurs and community events.
Each honoree received a limited-edition MacKenzie-Childs ceramic Star Vase made in Aurora.
The luncheon was emceed by Erin Katzker, former chair of the Tour Cayuga Board of Directors and managing director of The REV Theatre Company. Cayuga County Legislature Chair Jonathan Anna delivered opening remarks. Speakers included Bob Provost, president and CEO of the New York State Tourism Industry Association, and Ally Spongr DeGon, director of the Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center, board president of the Underground Railroad Consortium of New York State and executive director of the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway.
The program also marked a leadership transition, with Katzker inviting Jacob Hamilton to help close the event as Tour Cayuga’s incoming board chair.
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