Dr. Waddy W. Moore History Award – Essay Contest

Dr. Waddy William Moore joined the faculty of Arkansas State Teacher’s College (now UCA) in 1965 as an Associate Professor of History and was promoted to full professor in 1970. He was a charter member of the American Oral History Association and served as president in 1977. In 1999, he was honored as Distinguished Professor Emeritus by UCA.

In addition to his teaching duties, Dr. Moore published two books about Arkansas history and served as president of both the Faulkner County Historical Society and the Arkansas Historical Association. Dr. Moore retired from UCA in 1999. Upon his passing, the Moore family designated funds to establish an award to assist a high school senior with plans to further their studies in history after graduation.

All Faulkner County seniors, whether in public and private high schools, can compete for the $500 cash award. Students are required to write a 500-word essay answering a prompt which will be announced in the fall. In addition to the essay, students submit a school resume describing their school and community service, honors and awards, and academic excellence. They must also submit two letters of recommendation from two teachers and/or counselors.

One student from each Faulkner County high school will be nominated by school counselors, assisted by the school’s history department, to write an essay and compete at the county level. Published writers, unassociated with any of the schools represented, will judge the numbered essays, using a “blind scoring” system.

The essay contest winner will be notified in the spring and the student will read their winning essay at the FCHS Annual Meeting. It will then be published in the FCHS historical journal, “Faulkner Facts and Fiddlings” Fall issue.

For more information about applying for this history award, contact your school counselor.

The following is a list of past award recipients:

2022 – Madelyn Tanguay, Conway Christian High School

          2023

FCHS Boad President Ree Walker (left), Sydney Evans, and baord members Kathey Farley and Dr. Bob Reising.

Sydney Drew Evans is the 2023 recipient of the Faulkner County Historical Society’s Founders Scholarship. The award, honoring past society member Dr. Waddy Moore, was presented at the annual meeting of the historical society on April 16. Evans, daughter of Joseph and Samantha Evans and a recent honor graduate of Conway High School, submitted the winning entry in the society’s annual scholarship essay competition. Each year, seniors from local area high schools are challenged to write an essay, answering the prompt: “Describe how your interest in history will aid you in achieving your professional goals.”

During her high school years, Evans, a 2022 Arkansas Governor’s School alumni, has competed in National History Day, Model United Nations, the Arkansas State Debate Competition, and Arkansas Student Congress. In 2020, she won the Model United nations Award for best position paper. Evans plans to pursue a career as a museum collections manager.

The Faulkner County Historical Society began awarding this scholarship after the passing of Dr. Waddy Moore. His estate bestowed a monetary gift to the society which was used to initiate the scholarship program. The society now holds fundraisers and accepts donations to continue this important program to encourage young students to pursue careers in history. A “bean feed” fundraiser was held at the recent Faulkner County 150 Birthday Bash.

For more information about the scholarship and the Faulkner County Historical Society, go to www.faulkner history.org. Donations to this scholarship fund may be sent to: Faulkner County Historical Society, P.O. Box 731, Conway, AR 72033. Be sure to note “Donation to Scholarship Fund” on check.

            2024

Aidan Williams (left), FCHS President Ree Walker and Dr. Bob Reising, board member.