NOMINATIONS ARE BEING SOUGHT FOR ANNUAL HISTORIC PRESERVATION AWARDS

for more information:
Ernie Slottag 789-2235

Nominations for the 2011 Mayor’s Preservation Awards program are being sought by the Springfield Historic Sites Commission.

“It is extremely important that we recognize preservation of the heritage of our community by honoring individuals and groups that work to preserve historic properties,” said Mayor J. Michael Houston. “These awards are designed to show appreciation for those who have gone the extra mile in making historic properties elegant and useful, and keeping them from becoming victims of the wrecking ball.”

The three categories for nominations are:

•  Preservationist of the Year – to be awarded to an individual or group that during the past year provided outstanding service to the community by creating awareness of the need for historic preservation; preserving a structure or structures of special historical significance, or advancing the historic heritage of the City; and

• Outstanding Preservation Projects – to be awarded to individual commercial, residential, neighborhood, nor-for-profit or public projects that preserved a structure or structures, areas, or monuments of special significance, and in so doing helped to preserve the historic heritage of the City.

• Outstanding Educational Projects -- to be awarded to an individual or group that implemented, conducted or maintained a program that advanced awareness of, or interest in, preservation of the area’s historic heritage.

Award winners will be announced at the mayor’s Historic Preservation Awards Ceremony on October 10, 2011. Nominations are being taken by the Historic Preservation Awards Committee, and may be submitted to the committee by letter or email. The deadline for submission of nominations is September 1, 2011. 

Submissions by mail should be sent to the attention of:

            Norm Sims
            SSCRPC
            200 South 9^th Street, Room 212
            Springfield, IL 62701-1629

Submissions by email should be sent to: NormS@co.sangamon.il.us.

Nominations should include contact information for the nominator so that members of the Awards committee can contact the nominator in the event that additional information is needed.

Recent recipients of the Preservationist of the Year award are: Ron Ladley (2002); Downtown Springfield, Inc. (2003); Floyd Mansberger (2005); the Elijah Iles House Foundation (2007); Court and Karen Conn (2008); and the DSI Heritage Foundation (2009). No awards were given last year.

For more information on the awards, nominators may call Historic Sites Commission member Norm Sims at the Springfield-Sangamon County Regional Planning Commission: 535-3100.