VISIONARIES IN PRESERVATION

By
Maryann Miller

 

If the attendance at a recent meeting in Winnsboro is any indication, folks are serious about historical preservation. About 75 people attended a presentation given by Josh Lasseree, the State Coordinator of the Visionaries in Preservation (VIP) program, which is part of the Texas Historical Commission.

Josh was invited by Phyllis Martin, a VISTA Volunteer with Winnsboro's Community Development. She learned about the Preservation program from the Texas Historical Commission's Web site and contacted him. Then she enlisted the help of Laura Bruton, VISTA Volunteer for the Chamber of Commerce, Brenda Uhlenhopp, who is with Main Street and Dawn Trammell who is with Community Development, to form a committee to organize the meeting in Winnsboro. "We had such a wonderful turnout," says Laura Bruton. "And we were ecstatic to see so many people who were excited and enthusiastic about Winnsboro and historic preservation.

Josh, gave an entertaining and informative talk about how the people in charge of preserving the historic character of a town. "You may drive around town thinking, Boy, they need to do something to preserve this building," he said. "Who is 'they'?"

With great comedic timing, he looked around the room then said, "You are 'they'. Business owners, church leaders, citizens, and people with city government. All of you working together are 'they.' Nobody is going to do anything in historic preservation unless the community comes together and works together to make it happen. "

He also talked about how important the historic buildings are to branding a town and drawing tourists. He said that the people who built the old buildings didn't get up one day and say, "Let's build the cheapest building we can. And let's make it ugly. And not say anything about our town or this great democracy we live in."

To underscore that point, he asked people in the audience if they ever went to Paris, France to see another Wal-Mart.

The Visionaries in Preservation program involves a process of visioning and developing clear, achievable goals for preserving historic resources. Cities who are part of the program, work on a seven month plan that is detailed and structured to spread the workload among a number of volunteers.

There are four main questions to consider when starting an Historic Preservation plan. Where are we now? Where are we heading? Where do we want to go? How can we get there?

The most important part of the process is in planning. "Without a plan, it's like coming to town to do errands without a list," Josh said. "Before you leave home you know you have to go to the bank, the cleaners, the library, the video store, the grocery store, and the bakery. But if you don't have a list, you might forget one or two of those."

Josh and his assistant Matt Synatschk, who is a program specialist, travel all over the state helping cities that are accepted into the Visionaries in Preservation program. They are available to help get the program off the ground, and are always willing to offer support throughout the process. The Texas Historical Commission also provides help in finding grant opportunities.

For Winnsboro, the next step will be to make the official application. Laura Bruton said that there will be meetings with Shane Shepard, the Economic Development and Main Street Coordinator for Winnsboro, as well as meetings with the City Council to determine how to move forward.

Cities are accepted into the program in the fall of each year, and the seven-month process starts in February. In material presented at the meeting, VIP makes it clear that they are not coming to town to tell folks what color to paint their fences. It is a planning partnership between the city and the Texas Historical Commission. VIP works to help citizens articulate how they would like to see the community develop to ensure the historic fabric of the community is protected. And who better to do that than the people who live and work and own businesses in town.