2016 Spirit of America nominee: Frank Nickell

NOMINATING ORGANIZATION: Cape River Heritage Museum Board of Directors/Margaret Ford

NOMINEE'S CHURCH, CHARITABLE AND SOCIAL MEMBERSHIPS: Program officer, Missouri Committee for the Humanities, summer; bursar and coordinator of Special Projects, Southeast Missouri State University; professor of history, Southeast Missouri State University; director, Center for Regional History, Southeast Missouri State University; director, State Historical Society of Missouri, Cape Girardeau Research Center.

WHY DO YOU BELIEVE THIS NOMINEE DEMONSTRATES THE SPIRIT OF AMERICA?

For decades Dr. Frank Nickell has been the voice of history in our region. He's led students into the past and inspired them to understand the realities of our character as a country. His intellectual insight has spawned legions of young historians to spread the news of those American values we cherish across our land. There's no one more deserving of the Spirit of America Award then Dr. Frank Nickell.