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Make Plans for the Statewide Preservation Conference
By Jane Kowalewski

Interested in learning about ways to protect our state's special historic places? The Tennessee Preservation Trust's Annual Preservation Conference is a great place to start. This year's edition takes place in Nashville on April 15-17, 2004. Historic Union Station, a crown jewel of downtown since its completion in 1900, will serve as conference headquarters. The theme is “Preserving Local Character: Neighborhoods, Town, and Country” and sessions will concentrate on maintaining a sense of community in the age of sprawl.

Thomas Hylton, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of “Save Our Land, Save our Towns” will be the keynote speaker.
“Our conference is a great opportunity to participate in a statewide network of individuals and organizations helping to save Tennessee's heritage” notes TPT executive director Patrick McIntyre. “It is both invigorating and inspiring to share with one another and learn about what preservationists are doing across Tennessee.”

This is the fifth annual conference hosted by TPT, which is the statewide affiliate of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Last year's meeting was held in Memphis, and featured over 40 speakers and 120 participants.  Some of the events planned for this year in addition to the educational sessions include tours of local historic sites, and a fabulous party and silent auction. For more information, please call TPT executive director Patrick McIntyre at (615) 259-2289, or visit their website at www.tennesseepreservationtrust.org starting in January.