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- 2024 Preservation Awards
- Southeast Arkansas Delta Ramble
- Women in Preservation
- Past Forward Conference in New Orleans
- Hands-on Training Opportunity
- Preservation Advocacy Week
- Introducing our New Board Members
- Thank You to our Partners and Sustainers
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From the Executive Director
Greetings, Members and Friends!
I hope this finds you well. As we reflect on the past year, I am extremely grateful for the leadership and dedication of our board of directors and staff and the generous support of our members and donors. Thank you! Please join us in January to celebrate the work of Jill Judy and Mark Brown, recipients of our Parker Westbrook Award for Lifetime Achievement, as well as 20 additional preservation success stories from throughout the state at the Arkansas Preservation Awards. It's our biggest party, and you don't want to miss it!
Wishing you a happy and healthy holiday season,
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Rachel Patton
Executive Director
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2024 Arkansas Preservation Awards | |
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January 31, 2025
Robinson Center, Little Rock
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Preserve Arkansas will host its annual Arkansas Preservation Awards dinner and program to honor individuals and organizations for projects focused on historic preservation, education, and advocacy throughout the state.
The 2024 Parker Westbrook Award for Lifetime Achievement will be given to Jill Judy and Mark Brown, co-founders and owners of Downtown Dwellings in Little Rock. They and 20 other exceptional people and projects will be honored with a reception, dinner, and ceremony emceed by former Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola.
For a complete list of honorees and to purchase tickets, please visit our website.
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Southeast Arkansas Delta Ramble | |
This year's Preservation Ramble took a sold-out bus to significant historic places throughout the Southeast Arkansas Delta associated with the region’s legacy of strength and resilience, including the Dunbar Jr. and Sr. High School, Lakeport Plantation Museum, UAM’s Taylor House, Selma Rosenwald School, and the WWII Japanese American Internment Camp Museum, ending with dinner at Pine Bluff's historic Colonial Steak House.
>>Click here to view trip highlights
Our Rambles tend to be memorable events, and this year was no different. We'll spare you the spoilers and encourage you to check out the excellent chronicle by Helaine Williams and Cary Jenkins of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette!
>>Read the thrilling firsthand account here
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Our first stop was Dunbar Jr. and Sr. High School at Little Rock. | |
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Our first Women in Preservation speaker of 2025 will be Penny Toombs on Tuesday, February 11, at 3:30 p.m.! Penny is the Assistant Director of Arkansas State University Heritage Sites, which includes the Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum and Education Center at Piggott, Historic Dyess Colony and Johnny Cash Boyhood Home at Dyess, Lakeport Plantation Museum near Lake Village, and the Southern Tenant Farmers Museum at Tyronza.
>> Click here to register
>> Visit our website to see our full speaker lineup
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Penny Toombs, Assistant Director of Arkansas State University Heritage Sites | |
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Our free Women in Preservation series is made possible with support from
DEMX Architecture.
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At the end of October, Preserve Arkansas Executive Director Rachel Patton attended the National Trust for Historic Preservation's Past Forward Conference at New Orleans. Patton enjoyed networking with colleagues from across the country and participating in educational sessions focusing on a variety of topics, including community engagement, deconstruction as a preservation tool, and the importance of involving Black Descendants at former sites of enslavement. | |
Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans Executive Director Danielle Del Sol speaks at St. Louis Cathedral during Past Forward. | |
Hands-on Training in Preservation Trades | |
If you didn’t get a chance to sign up for Historic Cane Hill's Colburn Barn Restoration Workshop, you’re in luck! They have rescheduled the event for May 29 - June 4, 2025.
Historic Cane Hill is partnering with the Heartwood School and the national Timber Framers Guild to provide hands-on instruction in timber frame repairs at the century-old Colburn Barn. Preserve Arkansas is proud to support this workshop with funds from our Becky and Charles Witsell Endowment for Preservation Education and Training.
>>Learn more and register here
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Join us on The Hill in March! | |
Registration is now open for National Historic Preservation Advocacy Week, March 3-6, 2025! Join us in Washington, DC, to meet with members of Congress and advocate for essential preservation policies and programs like the Historic Preservation Fund and Federal Historic Tax Credit.
Advocacy Week is co-hosted by Preservation Action and the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers. Early-bird registration is available until January 20.
>>Learn more and register here
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Arkansas preservation advocates with Congressman French Hill in March 2024. | |
Annual Membership Meeting and Board Announcements | |
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Membership Meeting in
Fort Smith
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Our annual Membership Meeting took place at the beautiful Clayton House in Fort Smith's Belle Grove Historic District. Members old and new enjoyed bubbles and brunch provided by Dr. Suzzette Goldmon and UAPB Hospitality and Tourism students.
After socializing and touring the Clayton House, a brief business meeting provided time to elect new board members and to acknowledge Suzzette Goldmon's tenure as board president as well as retiring board members Mike Kinkade, Tim Maddox, Hunter Windle, and Jonathan Kelley.
>> Click here to see more photos from the event
Following the meeting, Sustainer Circle members were given a private, guided tour of the Drennen-Scott and Willhaf houses in Van Buren.
>>See more pics of the tours here
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Tom Wing, director of the Drennen-Scott Historic Site and Asst. Professor of History at UA-Fort Smith, shows the Drennen family Bible to Sustainer Circe members.
>> Not a member? Join us!
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Introducing our New Board Members | |
We are so pleased to welcome three new board members in 2025: Travis Bartlett, AIA, Antoinette Johnson, PhD, and Barry Reed.
As principal in charge of design at MAHG Architecture, Travis Bartlett, AIA, is responsible for the design of numerous civic, healthcare, commercial, residential, and higher education projects. He received his Bachelor of Architecture from the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design at the University of Arkansas and began his career with MAHG in 1996. In 2001, Travis became a member of the firm's ownership group and currently serves as the corporate secretary/treasurer.
Antoinette Johnson, PhD, is the owner of Johnson Consulting, a historic preservation consulting and design firm in Little Rock. Antoinette holds a BA in Interior Design from Lambuth University in Jackson, TN; an MA in Historic Preservation from the Savannah College of Art and Design; and a PhD in Heritage Studies from Arkansas State University.
Russellville native Barry Reed is Director of Ashdown and Lockesburg Operations for the University of Arkansas - Cossatot, where he has worked since 2006. Barry holds a BA in History Education from Arkansas Tech University and an MS in Operations Management from the University of Arkansas. He led the efforts to secure more than $1 million in grant funds from ANCRC to restore three historic buildings at UA Cossatot’s Lockesburg campus.
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- January 31 - Arkansas Preservation Awards, Little Rock
- February 11 - Women in Preservation with Penny Toombs
- March 3-6 - National Historic Preservation Advocacy Week, Washington, DC
- April 5 - Mid Mod Arkansas Tour, Stuttgart
- May 3 - Preservation Crustaceans, North Little Rock
- May 29-June 4 - HCH Timber Framing Workshop, Cane Hill
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Thank you to our Partners and Sustainers! | |
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Bray Sheet Metal
Clements & Associates Architecture, Inc.
MAHG Architecture
Shiloh Museum of Ozark History
Superior Bathhouse Brewery
UA Cossatot
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Ms. Christina Aleman and Mr. Adam Smith
Ted Belden
Dr. George Betts
Jim and Kathy Boyette
Gary and Ann Clements
Courtney Crouch, Jr. and Brenda Crouch
Courtney and Amber Crouch
Fred Dietrich, D.D.S.
Paul Dodds
John C. Edwards
John and Tricia Greer
Gabe and Katherine Holmstrom
Tommy and Christy Jameson
Scott and Amber Jones
Jill Judy and Mark Brown
Bob Kempkes and Mary Matthews
Tim Maddox, AIA
The Honorable Pat and Mrs. Ellen McCabe
Carl H. Miller, Jr.
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John K. Mott, FAIA
Jack Moyer and Elise Roenigk
Justice David and Mrs. Carolyn Newbern
Mark and Cheri Nichols
Leslie Smith Reeves
David Reynolds
Emily Jordan Robertson
Aaron Ruby and Veronica Lilly
Martin and Kara Smith
David, Rayman, and Lafe Solomon
Breck and Anne Speed
Bart and Alix Stafford
The Honorable Mark Stodola
Anthony Taylor and Michelle Strause
Ross Toyne
Dr. Charles and Mandy Welch
Ms. Laura Ann Winning
Darby and Amiee York
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Preserve Arkansas is the only statewide nonprofit advocate for the preservation of Arkansas's historic and cultural resources. Our organization works to build stronger communities by reconnecting Arkansans to our heritage and empowering people to save and rehabilitate historic places. Support our work year-round by becoming a member! | |
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Our mailing address is:
P.O. Box 305, Little Rock, AR 72203
Call us at 501-372-4757.
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