DANIEL CAREY, TOM MAYES, & DR. JOHN OCHSENDORF: FEATURED SPEAKERS AT PAWV CONFERENCE

​Tickets are on sale at the Eventbrite page: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/this-place-matters-connecting-with-historic-places-tickets-26139243180

PAWV is excited to announce three featured speakers for the up-coming historic preservation conference, “This Place Matters”. Tom Mayes (National Trust for Historic Preservation), Daniel Carey (Historic Savannah Foundation), and Dr. John Ochsendorf(Massachusetts Institute of Technology) will be the plenary and keynotes presenters over the three-day period.  Each speaker will present on a different topic focused on why historic places are important and how to save them.

Tom Mayes, the Vice President and Senior Counsel for the National Trust for Historic Preservation, will be the opening plenary speaker on Friday, September 23.  He will speak immediately following lunch and will kick off the main educational concurrent sessions of the conference by presenting on “Why Old Places Matter”.  Mr. Mayes will answer the questions: Why do old places matter?  What difference does it make if we do – or do not – save old places?  What difference does it make in people’s lives? He will explore some of the many reasons that old places matter to people, including Continuity, Memory, Individual and Civic Identity, Beauty, History, Architecture, Sacredness, Creativity, Sustainability, Community and Economics.  Old places matter – perhaps for more reasons – and more fundamentally — than we think.

Daniel Carey, the President & CEO of the Historic Savannah Foundation (HSF), will be the keynote speaker at the 8th Annual Historic Preservation Awards at Halliehurst Mansion in Elkins.  Mr. Carey’s presentation is entitled “Secrets of Preserving a City” and will be based on his experiences with HSF over the last 7 years.  He will convey the need for balance between tourism and preservation while touching upon the value of heritage tourism, the competitiveness of historic buildings in terms of energy efficiency, and collaborations HSF enjoys with non-traditional partners in Savannah – arguably the largest urban National Historic Landmark district in the United States.

Dr. John Ochsendorf is Professor of Civil Engineering and Architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he directs a research program in historic masonry structures.  Dr. Ochsendorf will be the keynote speaker for the luncheon on Saturday, September 24, to be held in Beverly’s historic I.O.O.F. building.  His presentation is entitled “Preserving Historic Structures: Challenges and Opportunities” in which he will discuss how the preservation of the cultural heritage of West Virginia is vital for the future. Within his presentation he will explain how the field of preservation straddles the “two cultures” of the sciences and the humanities and therefore demands a deep engagement with both the technical and the cultural aspects of the built environment.

We are very honored to have all three presenters speak at the conference this year.

For more information about the conference, check out the event page: 
http://pawv.org/2016-conference.htm
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Plan your trip to the conference, September 22-24, 2016. Reserve your room in the conference room block at the Iron Road Inn – a locally-owned hotel in Elkins. The rate is $75.00/night+tax, and the room block is available beginning September 21 through September 23. Be sure to state you are with the group “Preservation Alliance of West Virginia.”

The phone number for the Iron Road Inn is 304-637-1888. The website is ironroadinn.com

This conference is being financed in part with Federal funds from the National Park Service, Department of the Interior. Regulations of the U.S. Department of the Interior strictly prohibit unlawful discrimination in departmental Federally Assisted Programs on the basis of race, color, national origin, age or handicap. Any person who believes he or she has been discriminated against in any program, activity, or facility operated by a recipient of Federal assistance should write to:

Chief, Office of Equal Opportunity Programs
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
1201 Eye Street, NW (2740)
Washington, DC 20005