Matt Synatschk, Sue Shore and I went to Jefferson on May 8th for the second stop in our Preservation Month regional workshop series. We were able to have some wonderful discussions with attendees about their ongoing projects and organizational needs.
One bonus of these workshops has been having Texas Heritage Trails executive directors participate in each workshop. Cynthia Martin with the Texas Tropical Trail Region joined us in Kingsville and Mary Turner with the Texas Forest Trail Region joined us in Jefferson. They, along with our other guest speakers, facilitated conversations about regional partnerships and the unique places that tell the stories of our state.
The morning panel in Jefferson discussed how appreciating our historic resources can unify citizens and lead to new opportunities that bring money into communities. These new opportunities included leveraging existing incentive programs and bringing other industries into your community. This information contributed to ideas featured in Statewide Plan Goal 4 (Leverage Economic Development Tools for Preservation) and Goal 8 (Build Capacity of Preservation Community).
Things for which I am grateful after reflecting on our workshop experience in Jefferson:
- Preservationists who listen to each other and share their experiences.
- Volunteers who pitch in and do whatever it takes to get the job done.
- People who strive to find new and better ways to contribute to their communities.
- Rejuvenating walks through downtowns and neighborhoods that are rich in cultural and historic resources.
We are grateful to our speakers for sharing their experiences with our attendees: Krista Gebbia from Preservation Texas, Lynne Spivey from the Cass County Historical Commission, Dr. Peter Dedek from Texas State University, and Ron Holloman from the Northeast Texas Regional Film Commission. Many thanks to the Jefferson Visitors’ Center for providing a workshop meeting space and refreshments.
Dr. Peter Dedek at the Jefferson Workshop
We are bringing THC coworkers Linda Henderson and Kristen Brown with us to our next workshop in Lubbock. Linda has loaded her iPod with Buddy Holly tunes for the road trip!
