State of Florida honors Billy Burbank III

Submitted Press Release
Florida Department of State

Celebrating the Sites and Sounds of Florida

Secretary of State Ken Detzner and First Lady Ann Scott honored Florida’s Heritage Month Award winners at a ceremony at Mission San Luis in Tallahassee. The 11th annual Florida Heritage Month Awards ceremony is part of a month-long celebration from March 15 to April 15, recognizing Floridians who have made contributions to the state in historic preservation, literature, folk heritage, and visual and performing arts.

“Florida Heritage Award winners are uniquely talented individuals who preserve our state’s traditions and heritage while making Florida a tremendous cultural destination,” said Secretary of State Ken Detzner. “By recognizing these great cultural talents and the arts they represent, we hope to promote how arts and culture can create economic vitality, enhance quality of life and instill community pride.”

The Florida Heritage Month Awards are were presented at Mission San Luis, Florida’s Apalachee-Spanish Living History Museum. In addition to the award winners, the Florida Heritage Month Awards featured cultural presentations and musical performances that spotlight the important sites and sounds that have contributed to Florida’s history and culture.

Residents and visitors can find more information about the Florida Heritage Month Award Winners and Florida Heritage Month events at floridaheritagemonth.com. To watch a video of Secretary Detzner introducing Florida Heritage Month, click here.

11th Annual Florida Heritage Month Award Winners:

Florida Book Awards

Children’s Literature
Nancy J. Cavanaugh (Pinellas County)
This Journal Belongs to Ratchet

Florida Nonfiction
Henry Knight (Newcastle, UK)
Tropic of Hopes: California, Florida, and the Selling of American Paradise, 1869-1929

General Fiction
Randy Wayne White (Lee County)
Deceived

General Nonfiction
Tom Williams (Collier County)
Surrounded by Thunder

Poetry
Craig Blais (Leon County)
About Crows

Popular Fiction
John Tkac (Palm Beach County)
Talking to Water

Spanish Language
Manuel A. Lopez (Miami-Dade County)
Los Poetas Nunca Pecan Demasiado

Visual Arts
Jerald T. Milanich (Alachua County) and Nina J. Root (New York, NY)

Enchantments:
Julian Dimock’s Photographs of Southwest Florida

Young Adult
Rick Yancey (Alachua County)
The Final Descent

Florida Lifetime Achievement Award for Writing

Janet Burroway (Leon County/Chicago)

Folk Heritage Awards

Billy Burbank III (Nassau County)
Guy LaBree (DeSoto County)
John Lulias (Pinellas County)
Bob Pitt (Manatee County)

Secretary of State Historic Preservation Awards

Senator Bob Williams Award
Barbara E. Mattick, Ph.D. (Leon County)
Mary Call Darby Collins Award
Senator Walter B. Fraser (St. Johns County)

Florida Artists Hall of Fame

Bruce Helander (Palm Beach County)
Tom Petty (Alachua County/Los Angeles)

March 20, 2014 2:00 p.m.