In honor of one of our founders, Raiford Stripling, a distinguished restoration architect, TOMFRA annually presents two Raiford Stripling Scholarships to students in Restoration Architecture at Texas A&M University. This recognizes the life and work of Stripling, an A&M graduate of the class of 1931, who became known as the Dean of Historic Preservation in Texas.
The scholarship is in the amount of $1,000 and is awarded by the Department of Architecture at the Spring Awards Ceremony. Selection of the recipients will be made by the A&M Scholarship Committee based on their standard criteria. The recipients must be either a graduate student in the Master of Architecture Program or an incoming student into the program, each of whom are also candidates for a Certificate in Historic Preservation. As part of the application process, the Stripling Scholar must commit to making a presentation at the next TOMFRA Annual Meeting on a topic related to preservation architecture in Texas. A paper may be considered for publication in our journal, El Campanario .
The scholarship, first presented in 2003, replaces the Raiford Stripling Memorial Award which had been presented to an outstanding student in preservation architecture at Texas A&M for the preceding 11 years.
In programs for history students at the annual Texas History Day State Contest, TOMFRA presents awards to students for exhibits involving the Spanish Colonial or Military History of Texas. This contest is administered through the Texas State Historical Association. The subject matter of the exhibit must also comply with the announced theme of Texas History Day for that year.
The announcement in the contest guide for Texas History Day reads as follows:
The Texas Old Missions and Forts Restoration Association Award is given to exhibits involving the missions and/or forts in Texas. The exhibit might involve a single fort or mission, or a group of the same, or might involve the history, information on the preservation of the site, a historical event, an individual or group of individuals associated with a fort or mission, or how the fort or mission played a significant role in the history of Texas and the United States. Winners receive a medal and $100. Sponsored by the Texas Old Missions and Forts Restoration Association.
TOMFRA sponsors a book award for an outstanding published book pertaining to Spanish Colonial Texas and Texas Forts through the Civil War. The award carries a monetary prize of $500, assuming an acceptable winner. The award is named after and funded and administered by Tomfra. The award is presented at the annual Texas State Historical Association business meeting in March of each year.
To be eligible for the competition, work should meet the following criteria:
A complimentary one-year membership is given to teachers who are interested in Texas history or teaching it. The award is open to public and private school teachers. The intent is that the teachers will enjoy our organization, its mission, and commit to becoming TOMFRA members after that first year.