By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
Executive director honored by Henry Ford Heritage Association
Friends of Ford Award Ceremony, L-R: Todd Bryan, President, Henry Ford Heritage Association; Christy Sherman, Executive Director, Richmond Hill Convention and Visitors Bureau; Mark Campbell, Treasurer, Henry Ford Heritage Association (and great-great nephew of Clara Ford)

The Richmond Hill Convention & Visitors Bureau’s Executive Director, Christy Sherman, recently received the 2026 Friend of Ford Award from the Henry Ford Heritage Association, at its annual dinner in Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan.

The award is presented to people who make important contributions to sharing, studying, and saving the history and legacy of Henry Ford and honors distinct efforts in research, storytelling, preservation, or community education tied to the Ford family and historical sites.

“The Henry Ford Heritage Association was pleased to present Christy Sherman with the Friend of Ford award for individuals,” said Todd Bryan, President of the Henry Ford Heritage Association. “Christy was selected for her role as a host of the Ford Legacy Summit at Richmond Hill in 2025 and for her tremendous legacy of service to the Richmond Hill area. Through her leadership, she has transformed Richmond Hill into a delightful tourist destination known as ‘Henry Ford’s Southern Town.’” In 2017, the Henry Ford Heritage Association also awarded the Richmond Hill CVB its Friend of Ford Organizational Award.

In addition to attending the Henry Ford Heritage Association Annual Dinner, Sherman and members of the CVB’s Board of Directors visited sites in Dearborn and Detroit as part of an educational, relationship building, and marketing opportunity.

Additional stops included:

• Ford Piquette Avenue Plant Museum

• The Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village, where multiple buildings, artifacts, and references connect to Richmond Hill

• Benson Ford Research Center, where Board Members were able to view archival materials related to the Ford era in Richmond Hill

• Fair Lane, the home of Henry and Clara Ford

• Edsel & Eleanor Ford House

• Michigan Central Station, recently restored by Ford Motor Company

“Those relationships are incredibly valuable to Richmond Hill,” said Sherri Broome, CVB Board Chair. “By building stronger connections with the organizations that help preserve the Ford legacy, we are creating opportunities to share Richmond Hill’s story with a much broader audience and strengthen our position as a heritage tourism destination.”

The Ford Legacy Summit was established in 2017 by Edsel B. Ford II to bring together leaders from sites connected to the Ford legacy. Participating organizations take turns hosting, giving members opportunities to tour each other’s sites, sharing ideas, networking, cross- promoting, and learning from one another. Richmond Hill hosted the summit in 2018 and again in 2025.