About SFHA Awards 

The Annual Awards Dinner is a wonderful evening of fun, music, food and bestows the Ron Ross Founder's Award, the Dr. Albert Shumate Memorial Award, the Oscar Lewis Award, and the Walt Jebe Neighborhood Award to people or organizations who contribute to the history, preservation, restoration, and planning for the future of our unique City.

Awards presented by the San Francisco History Association:

Ron Ross Founder’s Award

The Ron Ross Founder's Award is named after (who else?) SFHA President Ron Ross, who founded the San Francisco History Association in 1982. The award is given each year to a person, group of people, or organization for performing an impressive undertaking that supports San Francisco history.

Dr. Albert Shumate Memorial Award

Dr. Albert Shumate was a member of the SFHA and president emeritus of the California Historical Society as well as a survivor of the 1906 earthquake and fire. Dr. Shumate was also an accomplished author, with 11 books to his credit, covering a variety of San Francisco historical celebrities. His books include 1993's The Stormy Life of Major Wm. Gouverneur Morris in California and Alaska and 1994's A San Francisco Scandal: The California of Charles Gordon, Forty-niner, Pioneer, and Builder of South Park in San Francisco. The Dr. Albert Shumate Award is presented each year to a person, group of people, or organization for doing something remarkable to spark the preservation or remembrance of the city’s history.

Oscar Lewis Award

Oscar Lewis is a noted author who wrote many books on San Francisco's history, including San Francisco: Mission to Metropolis and Bay Window Bohemia: An Account of the Brilliant Artistic World of Gaslit San Francisco. The Oscar Lewis Award honors authors, publishers, or lecturers who have written books on San Francisco's history or otherwise helped educate the public on matters of San Francisco history.

Walter G. Jebe Sr. Neighborhood Award

Walter Jebe was president emeritus of the San Francisco History Association. The Walter G. Jebe Sr. Neighborhood Award is presented each year to a person or organization for focusing on local neighborhood history or to an ongoing project to educate and enlighten the residents of an area of the city. Mr. Jebe believed very strongly in neighborhood history and wrote the book San Francisco’s Excelsior District, published by Arcadia Publishing.

a fun evening celebrating the people & projects that preserve SF history