Membership. That's the single topic of my report this month since Preservation Action kicked off it's Summer Membership Drive. The time, talents, and dues of our members support everything we do as the only national organization dedicated exclusively to historic preservation advocacy in Washington. Since PA was founded in 1974, it has protected and advanced America's vital historic preservation programs, impacting significant places and communities from coast to coast.

I'm asking for your help in two specific ways:

  1. SHARE. This is easy and fast. Please share the membership invitation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. This will amplify our reach and, along with your recommendation to your contacts, will personalize our membership invitation.
  2. JOIN. There is a membership level for every budget starting at $40, and you can do it quickly and easily at https://preservationaction.org/membership-drive/.

I believe everyone reading this falls into one of the following categories:

  • CURRENT MEMBER. If you are a current member, thank you! Please share our membership invitation on social media, and tell your friends why they should join too.
  • FORMER MEMBER. We have several former members whose membership has lapsed. Renew with PA during our membership drive. We'd like to have you back.
  • SUPPORTER, BUT NOT A MEMBER. If you believe in the importance and value of historic preservation, please join PA's national network during our membership drive. You may already be a member of your state or local historic preservation organization, but through your PA membership you will help protect and advance our national preservation programs and find ideas that can be applied to your local efforts.
  • ORGANIZATION MEMBERSHIP. If you are a leader or member of a state or local historic preservation organization, please have your organization join PA as an Allied Organizational Member. Learn more!

If you are not already convinced, here are the top reasons I hear from people about why they are members of Preservation Action:

  1. Membership is rewarding. You join a national network of like-minded people that are focused and fun.
  2. Membership educates and updates. You learn about the latest issues and events around the country especially from PA's famous weekly Legislative Update and our annual events.
  3. Membership is great professional networking. You will have opportunities to engage with historic preservation leaders across the country and Members of Congress and their staffs.
  4. Membership is impactful to historic preservation advocacy. Our network has successfully defended key historic preservation programs from attacks and bad ideas. PA has steadily advanced a pro-preservation agenda and helped achieve increased critical funding for the national preservation program.

PA members all have their reasons for joining. Please join us today.

To demonstrate how easy and fast this is, I shared this to my Facebook page and did my 2021 membership contribution in less than five minutes.

Thank you,
Russ Carnahan
President
Preservation Action
There are many remarkable people on the front lines of preservation advocacy. Each quarter, we want to recognize a Preservation Action member who has made an impact and is an inspiration. They are our Preservation Action Heroes.
Sarah Marsom
Ohio
Based in Columbus, Ohio, Sarah Marsom works to improve the preservation movement’s accessibility by empowering the next generation of community advocates and increasing representation of lesser known histories as a heritage resource consultant. Since entering the cultural resource field more than a decade ago (B.S. Parks and Recreation Management from Northern Arizona University, 2010; M.S. Historic Preservation from Eastern Michigan University, 2013), Sarah has had the pleasure of working across the country with a variety of nonprofits, corporations, and other entities to achieve their preservation goals. 
 
She's the organizer behind #DismantlePreservation, sewist of Tiny Activist Project dolls, and an advocate for labor equity in the cultural resources field. Her work has received awards from both the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the National Council on Public History, in addition to being featured in Curbed, Traditional Building Magazine, and the National Park Service’s LGBTQ America Theme Study, amongst other publications and podcasts.
 
Taking place July 26 - 30, the 2021 Dismantle Preservation unconference works to continue pushing cultural resource conversations in a range of directions and features current students/recent graduates from around the world! Topics this year range from affordable housing to preserving skateparks to healing-centered planning, and so much more. Sign up at https://www.sarahmarsom.com/dismantle.

Thank you, Sarah, for embodying what it means to be a Preservation Action Hero!
Help us finish strong - join our grassroots network by becoming a member of Preservation Action this month!

In addition to our goal of 50 new members in July, help us reach our goal of members in all 50 states! We are missing members from Delaware, Kansas, North Dakota, and West Virginia. The stronger and broader our network, the more we can accomplish! Join or renew today at preservationaction.org/membership-drive.
If you have questions about your current membership status, please reach out to Preservation Action at [email protected].
Preservation Action is the only national non-profit dedicated exclusively to lobbying for the best preservation policies at the federal level. We seek to make historic preservation a national priority by advocating to all branches of government through a grassroots constituency empowered with information and training.