Criteria for History and People contests

These criteria will be more refined by March.  If you read this and it doesn't answer your questions, e-mail marci@kansassampler.org as your comments will help me refine the criteria.  Thank you.

• The entry must be something to see (not just a story) and must be publicly accessible.

• Interpretation of the visual evidence is a plus.

• The entry should be unique to Kansas and definitely unique in the state. As an example: Undoubtedly there will be many Santa Fe Trail entries. What we're looking for is the site that stands above all other Santa Fe Trail sites in multi-states and also within Kansas.

• Another example: African Americans moved to many states after the Civil War but Nicodemus is the only black settlement remaining west of the Mississippi. That fact that it is the "only" will get the committee's attention.

• The entry must be specific, not broad and general. For instance, "the Pony Express" would be general. The Hollenberg Station near Hanover would be specific.

• The entry needs to possess a "wow" factor, in either the particular piece of history or the evidence of it.

• Please choose your best History entry rather than submit multiple nominations. It's not likely that we would choose more than one, maybe two entries from any particular city so help us focus on your best.

• The entry cannot be an event.

IMPORTANT:  It's your job in the nomination to set your place apart from similar topic places in Kansas and beyond. Do not expect the committee to do further research. Everything we need to know to make the decision should be in your nomination.

• The entry can be one person or a group of people -- like the Amazon Army would be a group.

• If the entry is about a group, the physical evidence should also be about the group and in one place.

• The entry cannot be just a story about a person, there must be something to see. And, interpretation of that visual evidence is a plus. In other words, a statue of the person without a plaque or any explanation would lack interpretation.

• The nomination should tell how your People entry is set apart from other people involved in the same genre (politics, inventions, pioneers, etc.) in Kansas and beyond.

• The entry needs to possess a "wow" factor, in either the person's background and achievement or how the story is told.

• The person does not have to have been born in Kansas or died in Kansas but this person should be considered a Kansan, in some sense.

• Please choose your best People entry rather than submit multiple nominations for your city. It's not likely that we would choose more than one from any particular city so help us focus on your best entry.

• The entry should not be an event.

IMPORTANT:  It's your job in the nomination to give us all the necessary information to see why your People entry should be considered a Wonder. Do not expect the committee to do further research. Everything we need to know to make the decision should be in your nomination.