About the preservation alliance of west virginia

Preservation Alliance of West Virginia serves as the statewide grassroots nonprofit dedicated to supporting and promoting historic preservation.

With a commitment to preserving our unique cultural heritage, PAWV and its members work to save our past for the future, supporting and promoting historic preservation through education & outreach, advocacy, preservation tools, and heritage tourism.

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Staff

Danielle (LaPresta) Parker
​Executive Director
Email: [email protected]
​Phone: 304-642-0693

Jamie Billman
​Preservation Manager
Email: [email protected]

PAWV Board of Directors

Governance of the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia is vested in a volunteer Board of Directors, who elect executive officers. 

Officers
​President: Cade Vogelsong, Charleston - The Viking Group
​Vice President:  ​vacancy
Treasurer:  Phyllis Baxter, Elkins 
Secretary:  Betsy Sweeny, Wheeling ​

District I
Christopher Rizer, Point Pleasant - Main Street Point Pleasant
David Sibray, ​Beckley - WV Explorer
​Ken Lindsay, Charleston - Five Stone Homeworks
William "Skip" Deegans, Lewisburg
​vacancy

 District II
​David Abruzzi, Paw Paw - Cacapon Preservation Solutions
Jon Smith, Wheeling - Smith Family of Workshops​
Gregory Coble, Shepherdstown
Rebecca Juarez, Mannington - The Senator's Mansion
​Shannon Tinnell, Morgantown

At-large Members
Logan Smith, Elkins - Appalachian Forest National Heritage Area
​Michael Gioulis, Sutton - Historic Preservation Consultant
​Monica Miller, Charleston - M Miller Development Services
​Thomas C. Green, Clarksburg

Ex Officio Members
Meredith Dreistadt, Charleston - West Virginia State Historic Preservation Office
​Jennifer Brennan, Charleston - West Virginia Main Street/On TRAC Program

​Individuals interested in serving as a member of the Board of Directors must be a dues-paying member and should complete an application and return it to [email protected]. Learn how to become a dues-paying member here.

Download a .pdf of the application here.

Our Story

In the early 1980s, the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia (PAWV) advocated, along with other preservation-minded groups, to save Halliehurst Mansion on the Davis and Elkins Campus in Elkins, WV. Ten years later, PAWV enjoyed the newly restored Halliehurst and and Graceland as part of the organization's annual conference.

In 1981, the time was right for the formation of a statewide preservation organization. There were over 9,000 National Trust members in the state. A variety of preservation projects were going on in local communities around the state. Federal funding cutbacks had reduced staff at the former WV Department of Culture and History (now the WV Department of Arts & Heritage) and severely limited the scope of preservation activities at the state level. Private sector involvement seemed to promote preservation efforts in the state, to provide a network for local preservation groups, and to serve as a medium for communication and public education, as well as a resource for technical information. 

The initial organizational meeting of PAWV was held September 12, 1981 in Clarksburg. It was called by Beverly Fluty and Emory L. Kemp (National Trust for Historic Preservation Advisors in West Virginia). Present were Joe Getty (Mid-Atlantic Office of the National Trust), Rodney Collins (WV Department of Culture & History), Dr. Barbara Howe (WVU), Jeanne Finstein (Friends of Wheeling), John Ford (Lewisburg Foundation), Delores Fleming, Ralph Peterson, Margo Stafford (Goldenseal Magazine), John Hymes, Jr. (WV Historical Society and Glenville State College), Joanne Cimgolia (Marion County Historical Society and WV Director for Preservation Action), Eugene Harper (Kanawha Valley Historical Society and Preservation Society and University of Charleston), Emory L. Kemp  (WVU), and Beverly Fluty (WV Independence Hall). Emory L. Kemp was elected President Pro Tempore.

The organizational meeting was followed by a membership meeting in November, 1981. Its purpose was to establish a formal structure, adopt by-laws, set goals, and plan for a statewide preservation conference. 

The first president of PAWV was Dr. Barbara Howe. Subsequent presidents were Ralph Peterson, Snookie Nuting, Michael Gioulis, and Paul McAllister.

The first annual preservation conference was held at Harpers Ferry in June, 1982. Since then, PAWV has met in Bluefield, Wheeling, Charleston, Lewisburg, Moorefield, Huntington, Shepherdstown, Bramwell, Morgantown, Parkersburg, Elkins, Charles Town, and Beverly. In addition PAWV has sponsored and co-sponsored a variety of activities such as an Old House Clinic, Historic Wood Windows Restoration Workshops, and masonry repointing workshops.

In 1983, PAWV received a Challenge Grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation to facilitate membership growth and the visibility of PAWV in the state. A goal was set to attract 1,000 members. Speaking engagements were held throughout the state by PAWV officers and a newsletter was initiated. The newsletter was considered by the founders and the National Trust to be essential to the growth and continuity of the organization. Membership brochures were designed and printed. 

Also in 1983, PAWV received an additional grant from the Historic Preservation Unit of the WV Department of Culture and History to produce a preservation handbook. The result was The Preservation Sourcebook: A Guide to WV Historic Preservation.

The first recipients of the Outstanding Preservationist Award (established in 1983) were Beverly Fluty (left) of Wheeling and Dr. Emory L. Kemp (right) of Morgantown. Mrs. Fluty was recognized for her contributions to the restoration of the U.S. Custom House in Wheeling, her significant research into the origins of the Wheeling Suspension Bridge, and the development of the first statewide preservation plan. Dr. Kemp was recognized for his contributions to the restoration and preservation of the Wheeling Suspension Bridge and for researching and nominating 17 covered bridges to the National Register of Historic Places.

A subsequent Outstanding Preservationist Award was given posthumously to Clarence Moran for his dedication to preservation at the state level.

PAWV was awarded a grant from the WV Humanities Foundation in 1984 to design and construct an exhibit depicting the State's architectural history. Entitled From Log Cabins to Cass Gilbert: West Virginia's Architectural Heritage Must be Recognized and Preserved - the 32-panel traveling exhibit included an introduction to historic preservation and information on state preservation organizations and activities, industrial archaeology in the state, and examples of architecture from folk and catalogue house to traditional "high style" buildings and historic landmarks. The Preservation Sourcebook: A Guide to West Virginia Historic Preservation served as exhibit catalogue and resource document. the exhibit was constructed to fit into a carrier bag for easy shipment and was made available to groups around the state. The exhibit was shown throughout the state over the years, including the WV State Fair. 

In 1984, PAWV received a grant from the WV Department of Culture and History to identify and catalogue round and multi-sided barns in West Virginia.

PAWV participated in the 1987 Task Force for Historic Preservation Legislation. A document was produced entitled To Save Our Past for Our Future - a Report. PAWV was instrumental in the development of new statutes which strengthen the preservation program at the state and local levels. PAWV participated in 6 public hearings across the state and distributed the task force report to members of the WV Legislature.

Active in the work of getting the statutes passed were Mike Gioulis (past PAWV President), Gene Harper and Becky Payne (PAWV Board Members), Joyce Kilburn (WV Department of Culture & History), and Brenda Nichols Harper (WV Department of Commerce). Joe Martin, then Delegate from Randolph County, was indispensable in keeping the bill on track. Special recognition was also given to Senator Boettner and Delegates Shifano and MicKinley, as well as Delegate Martin.

SB267 created a state register of historic places, established professional qualifications for SHPO director and staff, established a review process whereby state-funded projects would be reviewed by SHPO staff for their effort on historic sites, granted compliance alternatives for historic structures to building and fire code regulations in consultation with SHPO, provided a check-off on the WV Income Tax form to allow individuals to donate to a fund for endangered historic sites, provided additional protection for archaeological sites, included protection of historic sites as allowable in city and county zoning ordinances, and broadened and clarified the duties and powers of the Historic Landmark Commissions - establishing a process for certification of appropriateness to protect historic and architectural qualities of sites identified as significant. The legislation was a landmark effort on the part of preservationists in the state.

Since 1981, PAWV individual member and group efforts have continued to support and stimulate preservation activities statewide. PAWV has served as an educational and technical resource, an advocacy body, and a private sector network for preservationists. The annual meetings have served to inform members of preservation efforts around the state and at the national level and to present timely and varied preservation related programs to the public.