The City of Washington is seeking nominations for an award honoring those invested in the city’s historic preservation.

According to Community Development Planner Emily Rebert, the nominations are an opportunity for the local community to recognize and celebrate the importance of Washington’s historic district.

“We have a lot of people, a lot of citizens, in our historic district that take a lot of pride in their homes and recognize the importance of historic preservation and the benefits of restoring those homes,” Rebert said. “The Terrell awards help to recognize those people.”

The awards are named for Rena K. Terrell, a founding member of the City’s Historic Preservation Commission, a member of the Historic Preservation Foundation of North Carolina, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the City’s official representative on the Board of Directors of the Historic Albemarle Tour.

Awards come in four categories: a commercial property, a residential property, a “Devoted Stewardship” property and one “Good Neighbor” project, all in the historic district.

Property owners who have done restoration, construction and/or maintenance with preservation in mind are eligible for each award. However, those who have also done so with consideration to both neighbors and neighborhood are eligible for the “Devoted Stewardship” and “Good Neighbor” awards, according to a press release from Rebert.

“A ‘Good Neighbor’ is someone that’s looking beyond their own property, looking to the historic district and looking at a major revenue for Little Washington is its heritage tourism,” Rebert said. “To me, a good neighbor contributes to that. It’s something that helps Washington be more unique that other towns.”

Rebert said nominations are open until May 13 and are open to anyone who want to make one. Recipients of Terrell Awards will be announced each week throughout May and June to celebrate National Preservation Month, the press release stated.

Coffee Caboose, located on MacNair Street, was last year’s commercial property winner. At times during its history, the clapboard building has served as a café, small grocery stores, an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting place. Now, owner Mary Anne Nunnelly Foy serves coffee, pastries and other treats out of the shop that is part coffeehouse, part tribute to Washington history with its treasure trove of photos and other memorabilia.

In the residential category, Chuck and Jenna Davis won an award for the restoration work they did on their 100-year-old East Main Street home, while local attorney Don Stroud won the “Good Neighbor” award for his continual upkeep of the Potts-Bragaw House, located at the corner of East Second and Bonner streets. According to one judge, the recognition came because Stroud’s circa 1870 home “looks great, all the time.”

Nominations for the Rena K. Terrell awards may be mailed to the City of Washington’s Planning and Development Department, Attn: Emily Rebert, emailed to erebert@washingtonnc.gov or submitted by calling 252-946-0897.