Date: Monday, October 15, 2001

Contacts: Paul DeMark, CR Public Information Officer (707) 476-4358

CR Professor Bill Hole (707) 476-4353

The five-year-old program earlier this month won a prestigious Governor’s Historic Preservation Award during a ceremony in Sacramento honoring 15 organizations in the state.

Last spring the HPRT program won two other awards. The California Preservation Foundation gave it the President’s Award, its highest honor. A few days later, the HPRT also received an annual award from the Eureka Heritage Society for Preservation Excellence.

CR Construction Technology Professor Bill Hole, the director of the HPRT program, said the flurry of recognition – and because there is no other one like it west of the Mississippi – has directly led to CR being on the verge of completing the legalities of a first-of-its kind, one-year contract with the Presidio Trust in San Francisco.

The Presidio agreement calls for three CR instructors to teach the theory and hands-on techniques of historic preservation and restoration to more than 200 of the Presidio’s federal employees. The primary working labs will take place at what is called Pilot’s Row, since the 13 structures to be rehabilitated once housed military pilots who lived there in the 1920s when the Presidio was a U.S. Army base.

CR expects to start the training by the end of October. CR will customize its Historic Preservation Field Techniques course for the Presidio Trust.

"The Presidio Trust wants its employees to become sensitized to historic preservation," Hole said.

Hole, who will take turns commuting to the Presidio for the next year with fellow HPRT instructors Dane Cowan and Jill Macdonald, said if things go well, it is possible CR will establish a long-term teaching relationship with the Presidio Trust. He added that he envisioned an expansive program when CR started the program five years ago.

"From conception, I saw this program as having a global interest," Hole said. "We designed it to work with this region, the state, nationally and beyond. Thanks to all the advisory members for helping this to happen."

"It relates to sustainability and preserving the resources we have. There’s also a need to teach folks about the human element in historic structures."

CR president Dr. Casey Crabill recognized the importance of the HPRT program when she accepted the Governor’s Historic Preservation Award from California State Preservation Officer Dr. Knox Mellon on Oct. 5.

"We think that the Historic Preservation and Restoration Technology program is exactly what a community college program should be," Crabill said. "Community colleges have always been said to build communities; this restores them as well.

"We think that it meets our community’s needs and interests. It also combines strong educational theory with hands-on learning opportunities for students. In that way, it meets the needs of students who might not have gone on in higher education."

Hole said a debt of gratitude should be paid to Arcata resident Alex Stillman – a property owner and community leader long dedicated to historical preservation – who nominated CR for both of its recent state awards.

"This program wouldn’t be here without Alex Stillman," said Hole.

Stillman, who serves on the board of the California Preservation Foundation as well as the Historical Sites Society of Arcata, said she appreciates Crabill’s support of the HPRT program. She’s also pleased with CR’s developing partnership with the Presidio Trust.

"It’s a new dimension for the program," Stillman said. "If they can get more people involved in historic preservation, it’s a worthwhile activity."

Dr. Frank Trocki, CR’s Dean of Professional and Technical Programs, said HPRT’s success over the past year "is significant because it enhances the reputation of the program. It is important in the context of what we plan to do in the future. We are training people to have skill sets in place so that we can take them to the next level with historic preservation.

"This is a niche market and CR has something that no other community college in California has," Trocki added. "This training can be significant to a community and to individuals interested in the preservation of historically built environments."