Southeast to be honored for preservation efforts

Southeast Missouri State University will be honored for its historic preservation efforts at the Missouri Alliance for Historic Preservation's Legacy Awards next week and will host this year's Missouri Preservation Conference.

The Legacy Awards banquet will begin at 6 p.m. Oct. 22 at Ray's Banquet Center, 3257 William St. The banquet recognizes outstanding achievements by individuals, organizations and projects that have illustrated best practices in historic preservation.

Southeast will be honored for its restoration of Academic Hall and renovations at the River Campus, according to a university news release.

Retired Southeast emeriti faculty members, Frank Nickell and Mary and Bert Kellerman, also will be recognized.

Nickell, associate professor emeritus of history and former director of the Center for Regional History at Southeast, will be honored for his many years of leadership at the local and academic level through teaching, public involvement and fostering an interest in regional history, according to Southeast.

He is director of the State Historical Society of Missouri's Cape Girardeau Research Center and host of "Almost Yesterday" on KRCU Public Radio.

Mary Ann Kellerman, professor emerita of human environmental studies, and Bert Kellerman, professor emeritus of management and marketing, former chair of the Department of Management and Marketing and associate dean emeritus of the Donald L. Harrison College of Business, will be recognized for their leadership in fostering a preservation ethic in southeast Missouri.

The Kellermans are founders of The Kellerman Foundation and serve on it.

Other awardees include The Glenn House Museum, the Southeast Missourian and Old Town Cape.

Tickets to the Legacy Awards dinner are $30 and may be purchased by contacting Old Town Cape, 418 Broadway, by calling (573) 334-8085 or the Kellerman Foundation, 102 N. Main St., by calling (573) 587-3295.

In conjunction with the awards, the university is hosting the Missouri Preservation Conference on Oct. 21-23.

Steven Hoffman, professor of history and coordinator of the Historic Preservation Program at Southeast, said it's the second time the university has hosted the conference in the past 20 years.

This year's theme is "The Past and the Future of Preservation," looking at the history and advancement of historic preservation.

The conference will take place on the fourth floor of Southeast's University Center, at the corner of Henderson and Normal avenues.

Events include more than 30 educational sessions, tours of historic places, networking events and a trade show featuring architects and consultants, contractors, building supply manufacturers and dealers.

"From a general perspective, it's nice that we have access to sessions and speakers about historic preservation right here in our community," Hoffman said. "Normally, we would have to travel to get this kind of education and access."

Hoffman added it's a great opportunity for students to not only see what a conference is like but to meet professionals in the field who know what it takes to be successful.

"There's a smorgasbord of opportunities to learn about preservation and to learn skills, to learn what other people are doing and to share in those ideas," he said. "And to be able to do it right here in our backyard is just tremendously exciting."

A keynote address by the National Trust for Historic Preservation's executive vice president and chief preservation officer David Brown will be at 10:15 a.m. Oct. 21 in the University's Academic Hall Auditorium.

"He's certainly a pretty significant player in the world of preservation," Hoffman said. "To have him in town is very exciting."

To register, visit preservemo.org or http://conference.red40net.com/registration. For more information or to register by phone, call the Missouri Alliance for Historic Preservation at (660) 882-5946.

klamb@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3639

Pertinent address:

One University Plaza, Cape Girardeau, Mo.