HUNTINGTON — Preservation Alliance of West Virginia will host the organization's first awards banquet at the Keith-Albee Performing Arts Center on Wednesday, Sept. 23.

The event will not only showcase one of West Virginia's historic landmarks, but also the recognize the family who preserved it.

"It will be an honor for Preservation Alliance to receive and recognize the Hyman family at the 2009 Awards Banquet," said PAWV Executive Director Karen Carper. "Their loving care of the Keith-Albee over the years has preserved this historic gem for many generations of West Virginians to come."

Awards will be presented to other outstanding preservation and heritage development projects throughout West Virginia. A special award will recognize West Virginia native Greg Coble for his work with the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Coble was instrumental in NTHP’s listing of the Blair Mountain Battlefield among the 2006 America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places, the only such West Virginia listing in the history of the Trust's nationwide list.

He also championed the listing of Lewisburg as one of the National Trust's 2004 Dozen Distinctive Destinations as well as Morgantown’s 2007 listing. A 28-year veteran of the National Trust, Coble presently serves as the organization's chief financial officer.

 The Awards Banquet event will begin at 3 p.m. with a tour of the Keith-Albee. A 5 p.m. reception will follow the tour and dinner will begin at 6 p.m. Awards will be presented at 7 p.m. The program will conclude with a presentation by noted community development expert Kennedy Smith. Smith will discuss the value of historic preservation as a downtown and community revitalization tool.

The co-founder of the Community Land Use and Economics (CLUE) Group, Smith is the former director of the National Trust's National Main Street Center. During her tenure there, the Main Street program was recognized as one of the most successful economic development programs in the country, expanding to a nationwide network of almost 2,000 towns and cities.

For more information or to make a reservation to attend, call the PAWV office at 304-345-6005. Information is also available at www.pawv.org.

 

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