Each year, Preservation Maryland honors individuals, organizations, and projects that exemplify excellence in historic preservation, smart growth, and stewardship across the state. The Best of Maryland Awards highlight the remarkable work being done to protect and celebrate the places that define our history and communities.
We are thrilled to recognize the 2025 Best of Maryland Award honorees:
President’s Leadership Award
Presented to individuals to recognize exceptional leadership and commitment to preserving Maryland’s rich and diverse heritage.
Joseph Anthony Lubozynski Jr.
For decades, Joseph Anthony Lubozynski Jr. has been a lifelong documentarian of the historic resources of Frederick County, ensuring that the county’s unique architectural and cultural history is preserved for future generations.
Preservation Champion
Presented to an elected official in Maryland that champions historic preservation policy, programs, and supporting funding, and recognizes the importance of preserving Maryland heritage.
Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman
For his leadership in the establishment of Crownsville Hospital Memorial Park, a site of profound cultural and historical significance that honors the community and stories connected to the former state hospital.
The Phoenix Award
Presented to individuals or organizations to recognize projects demonstrating excellence in the revitalization of threatened or abandoned historic resources.
Two Point Studio
Awarded for the rehabilitation of the Poppleton Recreation Center, originally opened in 1976 as part of President Lyndon Johnson’s Model Cities Program. The project breathes new life into a modern-era community resource while respecting its historic context.
Smart Growth Excellence Award
Honoring an individual, organization, or project that best exemplifies the core tenets of smart growth
Murphy & Dittenhafer Architects
Recognized for the construction of the new Department of Legislative Services Building in Annapolis, designed in harmony with the surrounding historic buildings and the greater Colonial Annapolis National Historic District.
Stewardship Award
Presented to individuals or organizations to recognize exemplary stewardship of Maryland’s historic buildings, collections, landscapes, and archaeological sites.
Sumner Hall
This award celebrates Sumner Hall’s ongoing preservation and interpretation of African American heritage in Chestertown, including its role as one of only a few surviving Grand Army of the Republic halls built by Black veterans of the Civil War.
Artisan Award
Presented to an individual or group of individuals who have demonstrated excellence in the art and artistry of a craft or trade that is used in the preservation, restoration, or rehabilitation of historic buildings, neighborhoods, landscapes, or archaeological sites in Maryland.
Neil Mozer, Mozer Works, Inc.
For his commitment to preservation trades training and apprenticeship programs, helping ensure that the specialized skills required to maintain historic structures are passed on to the next generation.
Gearhart Professional Service Award
Presented to an individual who is employed as a professional by a historic preservation organization, agency, or academic institution and who has demonstrated extraordinary leadership, knowledge, and creativity in the protection and preservation of Maryland’s historic buildings, neighborhoods, landscapes, and archeological sites.
Ranger Erik Gray Ledbetter (posthumous)
Honored for his many years of service to the Maryland Park Service, dedicating his career to preserving the state’s parks and cultural resources.
Read more about Erik’s legacy from his MPS colleagues, Ranger Sarah Milbourne (Western Regional Manager), Ranger Angela Crenshaw (Director), and Mark Spurrier (South Central Regional Manager).
George T. Harrison Outstanding Volunteer Award
Board of Germantown School Community Heritage Center
For their tireless efforts in the restoration and interpretation of the Rosenwald School in Berlin, MD, an original Tuskegee-designed school built through the Rosenwald Rural School Building Program. Their volunteer leadership has ensured that this important story of African American education endures.
Looking Ahead
These awardees represent the best of preservation in Maryland, demonstrating that protecting our shared history takes dedication, creativity, and collaboration. Preservation Maryland is honored to celebrate their accomplishments and looks forward to continuing to work alongside them and others across the state to ensure Maryland’s past has a future.
Awards will be given at this year’s Phoenix Rising event in Annapolis on October 16th. Please join us to support our award recipients!