Now into its 25th year of
service to the cause of preservation in
West Virginia, the
Preservation Alliance of West Virginia
was established by a group of concerned
and dedicated volunteers in 1981. These
volunteers were interested in building
interest in, knowledge about, and
legislative support for historic
preservation through grassroots
advocacy, education, and outreach.
Officially incorporated the following
year, the organization quickly began
making significant, positive
contributions to the preservation of
West Virginia’s vast, proud heritage.
Through the years,
Preservation Alliance has maintained the
statewide, non-profit presence promoting
historic preservation, with periodic
newsletters, web site, technical
assistance and advocacy, and annual
conferences. One of its first major
accomplishments came in 1984, when PAWV
published a Preservation Sourcebook for
West Virginians. A traveling exhibit,
shown all around the state, hit the road
in the same year. This exhibit showcased
preservation success stories from all
over West Virginia. In 1987, PAWV
played a role in restructuring the
different state agencies that ultimately
came to fall under the Division of
Culture and History. In 1991 and 1997,
respectively, the Preservation Alliance
successfully lobbied for the passage of
business and residential tax credits for
preservation at the state level. 1997
was also the year of the first West
Virginia History Day, and was the year
in which PAWV published a booklet called
Economic Benefits of Preservation.
This was the first manifestation of
what has become a staple of PAWV’s
platform: the direct link between
economic development, tourism, and
preservation. In 2003 a staff person
was hired for the new West Virginia
Cultural Heritage Tourism program, which
has become a highly successful program
under the current guidance of Mitzi
Miller. In 2005, the Preservation
Alliance hired its own full-time
director, and began planning a series of
home repair and preservation workshops.
The workshops have been executed through
the summer of 2006, and will likely
serve as the pilot models for an
expanded program in the very near
future.
At its first-ever
joint conference with Main Street West
Virginia in May of 2006, held in
Charleston, PAWV celebrated its 25th
Anniversary. Fitting of the occasion,
the dinner featured local, traditional
musicians, was catered by a local
restaurant that had been fostered
through the successful East End Main
Street program in Charleston, and was
held in the Charleston Woman’s Club, a
Charleston Cultural Instituation since
1926. Board members and longtime
supporters Mike Gioulis, Phyllis Baxter,
and Dan Gooding reflected not only on
the many important things that PAWV has
accomplished through the years, but also
on the many individuals whose hard work
and dedication made it happen. Today,
the organization continues to grow, with
more solid programming than ever, and a
group of members and leaders worthy of
its past. PAWV aims to do nothing but
build on and add to its successes in the
coming years.
