December,
2008
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Dear Johnny,
I am very pleased to
welcome you as a charter member of Preservation Buffalo Niagara and
thank you for being a supporter of historic preservation through your
membership in the Landmark Society. Enclosed is your Preservation
Buffalo Niagara membership card.
The Landmark Society’s
October 17th joint meeting with the Preservation Coalition was
exhilarating! We created a ‘new’ organization, Preservation
Buffalo Niagara, though one with an incredible forty year history. You
may also know that our #1 strategy is to quickly become an effective,
professional preservation organization serving Western New York. To
date, we have received grant awards of $ 337,500. A search is now
underway for an executive director.
Our vision for
Preservation Buffalo Niagara, with professional staff and volunteer
expertise, is to energize Buffalo’s preservation movement; build a
large constituency for preservation; provide leadership; create
alliances; spread preservation’s message and techniques to allied
organizations; publicize the fact that the greenest building is an
existing building; improve the public’s understanding and appreciation
of Buffalo’s architecture; and serve as an important advocate for
Buffalo and its unique region.
I know you join me in
recognizing the importance of our work. With our wealth of historic
resources, Buffalo needs and deserves to have a vibrant historic
preservation movement.
In just these few months,
I can report this progress:
•
The National Trust for Historic Preservation has designated us a Local
Partner. No small thing, this designation will enable us to work
very closely with the Trust staff and be part of a national network
that shares information and ideas. It will save research time and money.
•
The New York Times article, Saving Buffalo’s Untold Beauty, published
on Sunday, November 16th is a direct result of our Trustees showing
Buffalo’s treasures to Nicolai Ouroussoff. Wasn’t it
inspirational to hear from an eminent architecture critic and writer
that our city is indeed very special!
• Our
Buffalo Tours program and Educational Coordinator, Fred Schrock,
designed an exciting project to educate hundreds of area college
students on our historic architecture, creating a new revenue source
for the organization. He is working with our dedicated Buffalo
Tours docents and volunteers as we launch the 2009 season. He reports
that it will be another banner year, so plan now to take a tour!
• We
have developed very productive relationships with the Preservation
League of New York State and our SHPO (State Historic Preservation
Office). Officials from both joined us at our October annual
meeting to help launch Preservation Buffalo Niagara.
• The
City of Buffalo is in the early stages of developing a “preservation
strategy” and is looking forward to collaborating with Preservation
Buffalo Niagara in this effort. Working closely with the City is
an extraordinary opportunity that will hopefully lead to better use of
scarce resources in a manner that is not only more productive and
efficient, but also consistent with the mission of our
organization. Our mutual goal is open communication with regular
and consistent collaborative dialogue that supports a positive working
relationship that truly benefits our community.
This list is just a start,
but I am confident that together with our friends and alliances we will
address Buffalo’s preservation challenges. We will be
implementing successful ideas from across the country and initiating
some of our own. I will be consulting with you and all our
members as we undertake this important process.
Working to keep our landmarks, homes and neighborhoods vibrant—can
there be a better cause?
I look forward to working with you as we move forward. You can
help by becoming more involved, by providing us with critically needed
financial resources, and by encouraging friends and family to
join. However you decide to assist will be greatly
appreciated.
Sincerely,
Catherine Schweitzer,
Chair of the Board of Trustees
Preservation Buffalo Niagara
PS I have enclosed information on several ways members can help
and urge you to consider it seriously. These next months will be
critical for Preservation Buffalo Niagara and we will need to rely on
persons like you that already know that historic preservation can be a
vital movement for our region.