There were two winners for the 2010 East Ohio Historian of the Year -- Helen Earley from Ashland Emmanuel UMC and Fred J. Wilson from Massillon First UMC. Neither winner was able to attend the April 24, 2010 UMHSO Annual Meeting.         

Helen Earley (Ashland Emmanuel UMC) poses with her award

Helen was nominated by Rev. John A. Guliano and Administrative Assistant Kim Wasielewski for her Archives & History work at Emmanuel UMC. According to them, Emmanuel UMC is undergoing the process of church renewal, and Helen has played a major role:

Helen has unselfishly taken it upon herself to help inspire our fellowship toward this goal. [church renewal] She has taken it upon herself to create a Historical Center at our church. She along with the help of other ladies from the church removed old books from our library, painted the room, and added new lighting. She then renovated bookcases to showcase the history of Emmanuel. this is an amazing accomplishment considering Helen is 87 years old.

As she has been organizing all this information, she has also been teaching us about the history of Emmanuel. She presents six to seven Historic Moments each year as part of the church service. She has slides to show along with her presentations.

and

She alone knows how many hours she has spent in preserving and educating Emmanuel members on the history of our church and church families. In a time where church renewal and growth are crucial, Helen has felt the call of God to lead our church through the history we share. Her message is "God was, is and ever shall be faithful."

          Fred J. Wilson (Massillon First UMC)

   Fred was nominated by Rev. Leslie A. Peine for researching and writing a history of Massillon First UMC -- Celebrating the Past, Building the Future Bicentennial 1810-2010. Rev. Peine wrote the following in his letter of nomination:

We wish to nominate Mr. Fred J. Wilson, who for years was a leader in the congregation and our church historian. Fred is now in a nursing home. We will be inviting him as well as his family to our Bicentennial Homecoming Celebration in September. He spent a great deal of time and effort researching the history of First United Methodist Church. As you will see from the draft of his church history, he did a tremendous amount of work. We are in the process of editing the history and do plan to publish it....You can clearly see that it is a stellar effort worthy of recognition. Therefore our Bicentennial Planning Committee and our Congregation wish to submit Mr. Fred J. Wilson's name and his work for consideration for the honor of "2010 Historian of the Year." I believe that his efforts are extraordinary and thorough and worthy of this honor.