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Grants Effectiveness: Arkansas

The Preserve America Community Agent position in Arkansas was created by a Preserve America Grant. This position promotes historic preservation and heritage tourism as economic redevelopment and community revitalization tools that will encourage new programs throughout the state. This is a connection that has not been made in many communities around the United States; the further development of this program could create a nationwide network of professionals to promote Preserve America, and in turn, create jobs and revenue in the heritage tourism field.

The Preserve America Grant program has created partnerships in communities and regions between organizations that may not otherwise have had an opportunity or reason to work together. This has increased communication and the opportunity for future projects and partnerships. The Preserve America program as a whole has been a catalyst for local preservation action. The community agent has been able to meet with citizens in smaller communities to discuss resources available to help with local preservation action and education. The designation process and the state level benefits that have been developed through the Preserve America Community Agent program in Arkansas have encouraged more local preservation action from communities...
-- Arkansas State Historic Preservation Office and Historic Preservation Alliance of Arkansas

One recommendation of the 2006 Preserve America Summit was to “provide more technical assistance to local communities to promote historic preservation and heritage tourism, and explore the concept of a Preserve America Community Agent.” The Arkansas Historic Preservation Program created such a position, in partnership with the Historic Preservation Alliance of Arkansas, through a Preserve America Grant. This grant now provides local communities in Arkansas with a valuable resource person to assist with their heritage tourism and preservation activities.

Preserve America Community Agent Rhea Roberts, left, and Vanessa Norton, Executive Director of the Historic Preservation Alliance of Arkansas, at Eureka Springs, a Preserve America grantee

Since the fall of 2008, Preserve America Community Agent Rhea Roberts has advised and developed relationships with more than 50 communities throughout the state; given more than 20 public presentations; written articles for the quarterly Arkansas Preservation Digest and distributed a monthly e-newsletter; hosted a statewide meeting with 30 Preserve America Community stakeholders in conjunction with the annual Arkansas Preservation Conference; and assisted with implementation of Preserve America Grant projects throughout the state. She has also developed plans for outreach to travel writers, encouraging a focus on Preserve America Communities, and has helped increase the number of designated Preserve America Communities in Arkansas. Since the creation of the agent position, there have been 10 additional Preserve America designation applications from Arkansas communities.

An historic farm life demonstration in Batesville, Arkansas, one of the Preserve America Communities in the eight-county Ozark Gateway Tourist Council area

Recommendations from the statewide gathering of Preserve America Communities in May 2009 included increasing collaboration with local convention and visitors' bureaus; encouraging cities and local partners to use the Preserve America logo on their Web sites; and urging the community agent to continue to develop relationships with regional tourism associations. As an example of the latter idea, the community agent has been working with the eight counties of north central Arkansas that are members of the Ozark Gateway Tourist Council to increase the number of Preserve America Communities in the region (currently one town and one county, with other designations pending) and to develop scenic driving tours that highlight these communities and their cultural heritage. Ultimately, maps and information will be available in the Tourist Council's visitor's guide and at tourism and visitor's centers across the state.

Annual “Quilts and Their Stories” show at the Southern Tenant Farmers Museum in Tyronza, Arkansas

Read more on the Preserve America program in Arkansas

Updated July 1, 2009

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