The American Battle Monuments Commission recently won two awards from the National Association for Interpretation (NAI) recognizing the Manila American Cemetery (MNAC) and Normandy American Cemetery (NOAC) Visitor Centers (VC) in the category of “Interior Exhibit.”

The Interpretive Media Awards recognize outstanding pieces of non-personal interpretive media from parks, museums, botanical gardens, and historical and cultural sites around the world. A panel of experts judged ABMC’s excellence in the delivery of cultural and historical non-personal interpretive services with MNAC VC taking 2nd place and NOAC VC taking 3rd.

“This recognition represents the great strides over the last 10-15 years enhancing this new part of our mission at ABMC – telling the story and connecting to new audiences,” said Karen Wurzburger, director of Visitor Services and Interpretation.

In the past, ABMC has won an NAI Digital Media Award for its film “Understanding Sacrifice” in 2016 and an Interior Exhibit Award for the Chateau-Thierry VC in 2018. The award recipients are recognized on the NAI website, on social media outlets and during the NAI annual conference.

This provides visibility for ABMC not only in the world of interpretation but also to the general public. ” The awards from NAI are fantastic recognition of the collective efforts that went into developing world-class exhibits at our sites,” said Wurzburger.

“They are the result of teamwork and collaborative efforts between the MNAC and NOAC staff, Historical Services, Interpretation and Project Management over the past several years,” she concluded.

What about the NAI?
The National Association for Interpretation (NAI) is a not-for-profit professional organization dedicated to advancing the profession of heritage interpretation in the United States, Canada, and over thirty other nations.