Press Release
March 12, 2014
Contact: Melvena Heisch
Office: 405-522-4484
mheisch@okhistory.org
www.okhistory.org/shpo/conference
Scholarships for 2014 Statewide Preservation Conference
The Oklahoma Historical Society, State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) is pleased to announce the availability of scholarships for Oklahoma college and university students to attend Historic Preservation ABCs: Oklahoma's 26th Annual Statewide Preservation Conference. It will be held June 4-6, 2014, in Norman on the University of Oklahoma campus. Full registration and program details available in late April.
We are offering twenty (20) scholarships on a first-come basis to those who qualify. The scholarship covers the conference registration fee, and the application deadline is 5 p.m., Friday, May 9. For details and an application form contact Melvena Heisch, deputy SHPO, at 405-522-4484 or mheisch@okhistory.org, or visit the SHPO's website at www.okhistory.org/shpo/conference.htm.
Below is a brief conference program overview.
The three concurrent tracks of sessions include:
TRACK A: Academic Pursuits, which focuses on Norman's and the state's architectural legacy, research collections and tools for historic preservation, and a half-day visit to the Oklahoma Archeological Survey to tour the archeological laboratories and learn about current field work, research projects and cooperative efforts with the SHPO and the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, Cultural Resource Program.
TRACK B: Back to Basics, which includes an introduction to the National Register of Historic Places and the Secretary of the Interior's Rehabilitation Standards, rehabilitation project case studies of all sizes, and highlights of how the arts and historic preservation combine to promote community revitalization.
TRACK C: Comprehensive Community Preservation, which features two workshops. First is the National Alliance of Preservation Commission's one-and-a-half-day Community Assistance Mentoring Program (CAMP) for design review commissions and local government staff. Second is a half-day workshop about heritage areas and corridors and how they support economic development and heritage tourism, presented by Elizabeth Watson, Heritage Strategies LLC.
Special events include the opening reception on Main Street in historic downtown Norman, local tours, Preservation Oklahoma, Inc.'s annual meeting and luncheon, the State Historic Preservation Office's annual awards banquet, and the Plenary Session, featuring Linda Caldwell, executive director, Tennessee Overhill Heritage Association, who will deliver a lively discussion about how small towns can realize economic benefits and strengthen rural heritage tourism programs through spin-off from nearby, larger cities.
