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Mary Jordan (center), president of the Spencer-Penn School Preservation Organization, accepts an “Outstanding Service in Community Preservation Award” given to the organization by APVA-Preservation Virginia from Louis Malon (left), APVA’s director of preservation services. At right is Rob Nieweg, director of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Southern Field Office. The award was presented Thursday at the former school-turned-community center. (Bulletin photo by Mickey Powell) |
Friday, March 28, 2008
The Spencer-Penn School Preservation Organization on Thursday was presented the “Outstanding Service in Community Preservation Award” by APVA Preservation Virginia.
The former school in Spencer near the Patrick County line taught students from 1927 until 2004. Numerous volunteers — including some former students of the school — have since renovated the building and turned it into a community center.
Louis Malon, APVA’s director of preservation services, said Spencer-Penn is “one of the most sterling” renovation projects he has seen statewide, in part due to the amount of volunteerism involved.
Malon said the “Outstanding Service in Community Preservation Award,” accepted by Spencer-Penn President Mary Jordan, was created by APVA in part to recognize Spencer-Penn. The award recognizes a community’s dedication to preserving and reusing a historic building, he said.
Jordan said she was surprised to learn that the Spencer-Penn organization received the award.
Spencer-Penn is “really important” to the community it services, said Malon, adding that “community history is what you make of it.”
Spencer-Penn’s historical significance lies not only in that it is an 80-year-old building, but also in that it helps bond a rural community, he indicated.
APVA stands for the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. It once merged with a similar organization, leading to the current name APVA Preservation Virginia. |
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