Cornerstones, Chattanooga's historic preservation society, announces the recipients of the Historic Preservation Awards. The public is invited to an event honoring the recipients Thursday at Lindsay Street Hall. Nancy Tinker from the National Trust for Historic Preservation will be the guest speaker at the reception, which is open and free to the public. 

The Cornerstones Award for Excellence in a Preservation Project:  St. Elmo Fire Hall located in the St. Elmo Historic District, owned by Emerson Burch.  The project is being recognized for its excellence in preservation, adaptive reuse, and contribution to the neighborhood by providing a community place to meet. 

The Sophia Long Award for Distinguished Service in the Promotion of Historic Preservation:  Joe Sliger, Eastman Construction.  This will be posthumously given since he passed away unexpected in March.  Cornerstones has worked with Joe on many projects, a few successful saved and adaptive reused being the Hair of the Dog Pub on 4th and Market Streets and The Terminal Brewhouse.  

The Cornerstones Award for Excellence in a Residential Renovation:  Randall and Virginia Soules, Oak Street in the Fort Wood Historic District.  They were one of the first families to relocate into a downtown historic neighborhood back in the early 1980s. 

The Cornerstones Historic Preservation Awards reception will be Thursday from 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Ms. TInker is the senior filed officer in the Charleston field office for the National Trust for Historic Preservation. She joined the National Trust in the spring of 1998, and is responsible for advisory and field services throughout the 15 states of the southern region. She is specifically tasked with providing field assistance to the states of Tennessee, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Georgia. 

Specific responsibilities have included coordinating the Trust’s chain drug store initiative, leading preservation organizations through the strategic planning process, and collaborating with a range of partnering organizations which include the National Park Service, the National Parks Conservation Association, and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.

Ms. Long devoted her entire life to the protection of some of the city’s most treasured sites.  She was well known for her nationally acclaimed gardens at her home, for her unceasing efforts to preserve Moccasin Bend and Cameron Hill, and for bringing an array of nationally and internationally respected experts on urban and park design to Chattanooga to boost beautification of the city.  She was a persistent voice and an unquenchable spirit in the preservation of the city’s scenic and historic treasures for future generations.