HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008 TML City SPirit Award Application
CITY OF COLLEGE STATIONTexas Municipal LeagueMunicipal Excellence Awards2008 ApplicationCity Spirit“Project HOLD & the Heritage Programs”
We are all citizens of history. C. P. Fadiman The local history of College Station was being destroyed with every old building razed, with every crumbling scrapbook and fading photograph,
as well as, with the passing of our “seniors” and their memories. With each loss, a valuable piece of our community and cultural history disappears. A link to our past is vital to our
understanding of our future. College Station’s 2007-2012 Strategic Plan, created and adopted by the City Council, features a Community Vision that highlights the following objective:
Valuing and protecting our cultural and historical resources. Although College Station had been around since 1874, the City of College Station did not incorporate until 1938. Prior to
this time, no single concentrated agency had been established to acquire historical artifacts or data on College Station nor had they properly processed them into an organized format
for use by the city or other individuals. In addition, there was no group to celebrate the history of College Station, pay tribute to those who helped build the city, or educate our
youth and newcomers about our history. As the population of College Station continues to grow, there will be an even greater need to secure historical elements, photos, and documents
to maintain an archival record of the heritage of the city. and the Heritage Programs 1 of 7 Need for Project CITY OF COLLEGE STATION
Ideas shape the course of history. J.M.Keynes By 1989, the City of College Station created the Historic Preservation Committee (HPC). The HPC have been charged by the City Council to
“aid in the collection and preservation of the history of the City of College Station and its environs, and to provide education of citizens in its history.” With the assistance of city
staff the HPC created Project HOLD: Historic Online Library Database. Residents and former residents of the College Station area are invited to help us hold on to the city’s history
by loaning historic documents to be digitally scanned. Information scanned into Project HOLD is available at: http://hold.cstx.gov. Due to the volume of items donated, volunteers make
Project HOLD a success. Citizen and student volunteers perform tasks such as scanning and indexing documents into the database, conducting oral interviews, writing minibiographies, preparing
exhibits, researching the area’s past, gathering news items and collecting documents. The Historic Marker Program offers cast aluminum markers that recognize sites, persons, objects,
events, or buildings that are significant to the history of the city. All marker recipients are honored with a special ceremony at a City Council meeting where a numbered plaque is presented
to symbolize their importance and 2 of 7 How Goal Is Accomplished CITY OF COLLEGE STATION
place in College Station history. As of today, there are more than 80 registered historic buildings in College Station – forever preserved for historical recognition. The heritage staff
also conducts the monthly Exploring History Lunch Lecture Series that features an historical speaker to share College Station’s past with those in attendance. The events attract more
100 people each month, and have become very popular. The speakers are all members of the community or members of the faculty at Texas A&M University. The audience is a mix of young and
old, professional and non-professional, and students. It is a prime opportunity for the entire community to work together to promote an interest in heritage. The city’s government access
channel, CSTV-19, videotapes the events and re-airs the presentations twice weekly.
There is no life that does not contribute to history. Dorothy West Everyone in the community benefits from Project HOLD: teachers, historians, writers, researchers, students, genealogists,
as well as, new and prospective members of the community seeking to learn about its heritage. Volunteers from the community scan the documents into the database thereby promoting a line
of communication between the city and its residents. Local Texas A&M University students and Sam Houston State University students, from nearby Huntsville, participate as interns helping
to gather and process information. A recent “Brazos County Texas in World War II” event, co-hosted by Project HOLD, added over 300 files to the online Military archive alone. This one
event helped us to honor our area veterans. We are continuing to add to these files and further document the veterans’ history. 3 of 7 Who Benefited CITY OF COLLEGE STATION
The achievements of an organization are the results of the combined effort of each individual. Vince Lombardi College Station has partnered with many other local and state-wide historical
collections to extend the reach of College Station historical archives and heritage information. These include: Texas A&M University’s Cushing Memorial Library Historic Images Collection,
Sam Houston Sanders Corps of Cadets Center, Brazos County Historical Commission, and the Museum of the American GI. The city staff participates in the activities of these groups with
special displays or historical exhibits to help promote the overall awareness of heritage in Texas. The city staff member is also a board member of the local Brazos County Historical
Commission and the Brazos Valley Veterans Memorial Board. Interaction with these boards further permits the city to coordinate heritage events and heritage tourism. This year, Project
HOLD will be participating in the second annual Veterans Day events with a World War II exhibit. exhibit. 4 of 7 Level of Cooperation CITY OF COLLEGE STATION
Remember that time is money. Benjamin Franklin Effectively, there was no capital outlay for any of the equipment in use by Project HOLD. The office furniture and equipment came from
surplus supplies. The Project HOLD office is an 11’ x 19’ converted closet and storage space that also houses the Planning and Development Library. Other departments within the city
use the office space, computers and scanners, as well. Project HOLD employs one half-time staff person. By using community and student volunteers to carry out the collection and scanning
of documents, we have been able to keep our operating budget at a minimum. Volunteers have logged in well over 1200 hours each year. For Texas, Independent Sector research places a $19.89
value on each volunteer hour creating a total value of $23,868. The time and money saved by using these volunteers, who scan in thousands of documents annually, is extraordinary. By
scanning in and then returning documents to their owners, physical storage of documents is kept at a minimum. Storage space is very limited in the office. The exhibit photographs from
prior displays are arranged and hung on the walls of 5 of 7 Time/Money Saved CITY OF COLLEGE STATION
the office which helps to conserve our storage space. The displays also help to promote the Project HOLD to passers by. We are also able to utilize free exhibit space continuously throughout
the year at a conference center where the daily traffic is around 280 visitors. Promotion of Project HOLD events and activities is carried out through E-newsletters, E-mail and the city
website. Keeping the printing and mail costs down significantly allows for a much wider distribution. Project HOLD truly operates on a shoestring budget of $10,000 not including salaries.
Archivists are like mechanics, no one wants to give them money or the time of day until something breaks, then they become gods among men. Alex Rankin The time invested in Project HOLD
is minimal compared to the value of the documents and the importance placed by the City Council on College Station history. This year, as we prepare for our next year’s budget, we are
looking ahead to purchasing a printer/copier for the office. Our greatest challenge will be gaining approval to add a half-time paid intern position and requesting that the half-time
staff position be made full time in the FY09 budget. Our programs are popular with the community and have been most successful in fulfilling our goal of preserving our history. This
popularity has encouraged us to consider increasing our programs, events and visibility in heritage tourism. This will mean an obvious increase in our budget needs. 6 of 7 Time/Money
Costs CITY OF COLLEGE STATION
Athens built the acropolis. Corinth was a The city’s commitment to heritage was recently honored by the Texas Historical Commission who presented an “Excellence in Preserving History”
award to the heritage staff for their efforts with Project Hold. This award is only given in years when a project or person is deemed worthy of the distinction. Project HOLD won this
award once before for its involvement in the “Brazos County Texas in World War II” commemorative heritage event. The Volunteer Program for Project HOLD is documented annually through
the President’s Volunteer Service Awards program. Each year in April, the volunteers receive service awards depending on the number of service hours they have worked. Project HOLD has
been a member of this program for three years. During this time, we have awarded three silver and eight bronze awards representing a total of well over 2000 hours of volunteer time.
To earn a silver award, a volunteer must work over 250 hours in one year. A bronze award requires over 100 100 7 of 7 Improvements & Impact CITY OF COLLEGE STATION commercial city, interested
in purely materialistic things. Today, we admire Athens, visit it, preserve the old temples. Yet, we hardly set foot in Corinth. Harold Urey
hours. Our volunteers range in age from 12 to 82. The Project HOLD office has become an internal resource center for other city departments. We have been able to provide early documentation
of storefronts for the Department of Planning and Development Services in a renovation project. We have provided historic locations of residential bomb shelters for Public Works and
verification of street name and address changes for a Federal Bureau of Investigation case. Fostering an interest in the community’s heritage helps to instill a sense of responsibility
in protecting and preserving the history of College Station. By presenting programs to the public, in the schools, and to area organizations, Project HOLD has created a community-wide
interest in preservation. This form of involvement is an asset to our city livability.
“Project HOLD & the Heritage Programs”Supporting Documents
Brochure• One brochure for all programs• Available as handout or E-mailed• Designed in-house 1 of 9 Supporting DocumentsCITY OF COLLEGE STATION
Website• Thousands of photos, documents, maps• OCR/Indexed for searching• Resource for educators, students, historians• Award winning 2 of 9 Supporting DocumentsCITY OF COLLEGE STATION
Newsletter• E-mailed to 1000 • Composed from Project HOLD files• Archived on Project HOLD 3 of 9 Supporting DocumentsCITY OF COLLEGE STATION
News Coverage 4 of 9 Supporting DocumentsCITY OF COLLEGE STATION
PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT News Release Media Contact: March 26, 2008 Peggy Calliham, Community Relations Mgr. For Immediate Release 979-764-3499 pcalliham@cstx.gov College Station
Wins Award of Excellence in Preserving HistoryCOLLEGE STATION, TX-The City of College Station is the proud recipient of the 2007 Award of Excellence in Preserving History from the Texas
Historical Commission. The award goes to the city for its Project HOLD program, under the staff direction of Anne Boykin, Heritage Programs Assistant, and the city’s Historic Preservation
Committee. This award recognizes an individual, organization or project that has significantly contributed to the understanding or preservation of Texas history. Specifically designed
to recognize achievements in preservation planning, historic site identification, preservation of significant archival or artifact collections, or research that leads to a greater understanding
of state or local history. Only one award is presented, although the commission may may choose not to present an award in any given year. “Having grown up in College Station, the history
of this city is near and dear to my heart. I am especially pleased to have so many community members, volunteers, and staff recognized by the Texas State Historical Commission”, stated
Boykin.This award honors, not only the Project HOLD Historic Online Library Database (www.HOLD.cstx.gov), but the associated endeavors such as, the Exploring History lunch lectures,
the Historic Marker program, the Oral History program, the College Station Conference Center exhibits and the “Moment in History” newsletters.All of the files in our database come from
the members of the community who loan their memorabilia and documents to us for scanning. Project HOLD depends heavily on these items and on our volunteers. If you are interested in
helping to preserve our local history, please contact Anne Boykin in the Project HOLD office at 979.764.3491 or by E-mail at aboykin@cstx.gov.The award winners will be announced at the
Texas Historical Commission’s 2008 Annual Conference in Corpus Christi, May 1-3.###Press Releases• Sent to local media contacts• Sent to web subscribers• Archived on www.cstx.gov 5 of
9 Supporting DocumentsCITY OF COLLEGE STATION
Lectures• Monthly for lunch• Over 100 attendants • Recorded for play on CSTV-19• Archived on www.cstx.gov 6 of 9 Supporting DocumentsCITY OF COLLEGE STATION
Exhibits • World War II • Brides of the Brazos • Coach Delley & the Lincoln High Panthers • Scenes of the Sixties 7 of 9 Supporting Documents CITY OF COLLEGE STATION
Oral Histories • Digitally recorded • Uploaded to the website • For listening online 8 of 9 Supporting Documents CITY OF COLLEGE STATION
Awards • 2007 Texas Historical Commission “Excellence in Preserving History” • 2005 Texas Historical Commission “Excellence in Preserving History” 9 of 9 Supporting Documents CITY OF
COLLEGE STATION
City of College StationP.O. Box 9960College Station, Texas 77842www.cstx.govHeritage Program CoordinatorAnne BoykinHistoric Preservation CommitteeHillary Jessup, Chair; Marguerite Anthony,
Louis Hodges, Jane Hughey, Neal Nutall, Colleen Risinger, Anne Triche-Steen, Meredith Waller, Ernie Wrightvideo ~ Mark Beal design ~ Anne Boykin