We're turning to Ohioans for some advice and assistance.

Preservation Ohio warmly invites you to take our 2009 Fall Survey, which is designed to provide information to enable us to better serve Ohioans in the areas of historic preservation, downtown/neighborhood revitalization and heritage tourism. To assist you with the survey, we also invite you to read the list below of organizational achievements during the preceding 12 months.This survey is easy and quick to take, and is designed so that it can be taken in a completely anonymous fashion. Should you enter your name and contact information in the final survey response, however, you will be entered into a drawing for a limited edition set of "Moo cards" showcasing the 2009 List of Ohio's Most Endangered Historic Sites. The survey will remain online through November 5, and results will be released the next week, after Preservation Ohio's Fall Board Meeting in Columbus.The wider range of views and voices we can listen to, the better we can help Ohio's communities, organizations and individuals working to preserve the state's historic resources. Thank you for taking the time to help; click here to take the survey.

PRESERVATION OHIO GOALS AND ACHIEVEMENTS - OCTOBER 2008 TO OCTOBER 2009

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LOCAL ASSISTANCE.

Preservation can transform Ohio’s cities and towns through fostering economic development and an outstanding quality of life. To do so, Ohioans need the latest and most effective tools for preservation and revitalization right in their own communities.

GOAL. Identify and share the latest and best preservation tools with as many communities as possible.

12-MONTH ACHIEVEMENTS:

• Provided resource information, press releases and interviews for media in Toledo, Columbus, Mansfield, Dayton, Hamilton, Springfield, Athens and Cincinnati.
• Presented to groups in Mansfield, New Philadelphia, Dayton, Galion and Yellow Springs.
• Co-hosted “Financial Incentives for Historic Properties” with the Columbus Landmarks Foundation, Columbus’ first workshop on tax-based incentives for preservation in many years, as well as a day-long house renovation workshop in north central Ohio.
• Became the first statewide preservation organization nationally to host “real-time” interactive online discussions on preservation issues and opportunities.
• Worked directly with individuals, organizations and local government in over 20 Ohio communities.

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ADVOCACY AND PROTECTION.

Ohio’s historic resources are threatened on a continual basis by demolition, neglect, lack of appreciation and/or misunderstanding.

GOAL. Continue effective programming and develop new efforts to promote the cause of significant endangered Ohio places.

12-MONTH ACHIEVEMENTS:

• Compiled and issued the 2009 List of Ohio’s Most Endangered Historic Sites, a program now in its 16th year. During May and June, we made visits to listed and threatened properties in Columbus, Yellow Springs, Hamilton, Dayton, Springfield, and Tiffin.
• Provided testimony, presence and support to our friends in Tiffin and the Courthouse and Downtown Redevelopment Group in their efforts to preserve the endangered Seneca County Courthouse.
• Became the first and only statewide preservation organization in Ohio, and one of very few nationwide, to join local legal proceedings where important preservation issues are being considered. Because of potential legal precedent, our involvement was designed to protect the viability of historic preservation and design review ordinances in every Ohio community where the future of public buildings is being considered.
• Participated on the planning committee of the annual Statehood Day, which gives Ohioans the opportunity to share the message that “History Works” with their elected representatives, and to seek both funding and preservation-friendly state policies.

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BUILDING A STRONG STATEWIDE COMMUNITY FOR PRESERVATION.

Ohio’s preservation community suffers from a lack of cohesion and from multiple groups working in ways that waste resources and produce a disjointed message.

GOAL. Build a strong, vocal constituency for historic preservation in Ohio in all of its forms.

12-MONTH ACHIEVEMENTS:

• Launched The Ohio Preservation Network, America’s first social network designed exclusively for statewide preservation and revitalization. Through the site, Ohioans can now easily share preservation news, stories, events, opportunities and enthusiasm, and gain access to key resources.
• Forged new ground in the use of online social networking to build a strong, cohesive community for preservation, and to provide public relations opportunities for our members and affiliate communities:
• Hosted the most-followed organizational Twitter page of any statewide preservation organization in the country. Each month, our stories and links are now re-posted, and our stories are clicked, over 1,000 times. We continue to build a strong presence on Facebook, Flickr, LinkedIn, YouTube and other forms of social media.
• We continue to publish America’s first and oldest self-authored statewide preservation blog, MyHometownOhio, which celebrated its third anniversary this summer.
• Worked with statewide and regional preservation organizations in other parts of the country to share best practices and tips on social media.
• Hosted National Preservation Conference Twitter Central, the only location online for access to all Twitter entries from the 2009 Nashville Conference, including photos and videos.

The Ohio Historic Preservation Office recently announced the winners of their 2009 Preservation Awards, and recipients joined this week at the Palace Theatre in Marion to receive their honors.

These year’s list of winners covers a wide range of projects, many of them concentrated in the state’s three largest communities. Included were building renovation projects, educational efforts in both schools and for the general public, and for long-time service to local preservation efforts.

One award went to the new “Buckeye Assets” website, a joint project of the Ohio Department of Development’s Division of Informational Technology, Office of Environmental Services and the Office of Structural Engineering. The site is an interactive map of Ohio bridges – over 7,800 of them listed, with details as to construction type, age, and condition information. Included are the state’s many “historic” bridges, with specification made of those listed on the National Register of Historic Places, those eligible for listing, and those deemed “non-historic.” Most of the profiles also include photographs of a given bridge.

It really doesn’t get any better than this for fans of historic bridges, at least from a documentation point of view. Congrats to all involved for a valuable contribution to making information about Ohio history easily and freely available to all.

Buckeye Assets can be found at: www.buckeyeassets.org.

Photo: Screenshot of Buckeye Assets, showing National Register-listed bridges in Ohio.

On October 23, Preservation Ohio will host its third "live blog" of the year -- this time with a topic of "Social Media Meets Preservation", which will look at the relationship between the world of social media on one hand, and Ohio preservation and revitalization on the other.

An increasing number of statewide and local preservation and revitalization organizations are waking up to the potential of social networking to generate positive awareness, support and revenue. Perhaps the most important benefit of this new area of communication is the ability to build community behind a mission or project. From Facebook to Twitter; from Tumblr to Flickr - as we near the end of the first decade of the 21st century, the potential of social media is outstanding. Learn about best practices, tips and ideas to use social media to your advantage, including exciting projects now launching that use social media to help to communicate the message of preservation and revitalization. We'd be thrilled to welcome statewide and local preservation, Main Street and other preservation-related organizations to the discussion as well.

Preservation Ohio is a national leader in the use of social media to advance the cause of statewide historic preservation. From hosting the country's first and oldest blog on preservation, to owning the most-followed Twitter page for any organization in America, to launching the country's first stand-alone social network for preservation -- we have alot to share! Join us on October 23, from 10:00 a.m. to noon, on any Preservation Ohio website -- including on the main website, on the Ohio Preservation Network, and on this page.

A handful of items which have recently come across the Preservation Ohio desk – or items which we would like to bring to your attention:

LIVE BLOG – Preservation Ohio will be conducting additional “live blogs” this Fall, as we attempt to share the best ideas in advancing local preservation and revitalization efforts – without the need of travel and expense. Live blogs are easy to follow, free, and can be accessed at any of the Preservation Ohio websites, including the Ohio Preservation Network or here on MyHometownOhio.

On October 23 from 10:00 a.m. to noon, we will be looking at the increasing role of social media in preservation. Did you know, for instance, that downtown revitalization organizations in Ohio can easily use Twitter for creating innovative and free merchant advertising campaigns? Did you know that traditional neighborhoods across the country are using social media to generate effective programs to reduce crime, increase investment and connect neighbors? Or – did you know that in Ohio, you can easily ask questions of other preservation and revitalization organizations online? All this and more will be reviewed on the 23rd.

BOO! – All across Ohio, historic resources are the setting for “ghost tours” and other spooky-related events. Those include the 2009 Ghost Tour series from the Columbus Landmarks Foundation, Ghost Walks in Warren, and ghost hunts at Prospect Place near Dresden.

PROPOSED FEDERAL LEGISLATION – All across the country, preservation and revitalization advocates are hopeful in the Historic Homeowners Revitalization Act of 2009, introduced in the US House of Representatives this past week. If passed and signed, the bill would provide the following changes to the Federal Rehabilitation Tax Credit, according to the website of Preservation Action:

• A credit of 20% of the "qualified rehabilitation expenditures made by the taxpayer with respect to a qualified historic home," with a cap of $60,000
• An increase in the credit available for buildings in "high cost" or economically distressed areas
• The ability of the credit to be transferred or assigned, and to be more easily integrated with state and local tax credits.
• Availability of the credit for "for sale" housing.

HISTORY ON THE BALLOT – In a handful of Ohio communities, historic resources will be impacted by issues being considered by voters. That is the case in Cincinnati, where the Cincinnati Museum Center, which includes the venerated Union Terminal building, is the subject of a $16.2 million levy. At the same time, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer, the terminal is in need of some $120 to $140 million in repairs. If successfully, the levy will fund ongoing operations and some maintenance, although the larger repairs will remain unfunded.

Photo: Union Terminal, Cincinnati - cincyimages/Creative Commons License