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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 03 2023 Heritage Awards SummarySpringfield Upbeat September 5, 2023 Springfield Heritage Awards The Heritage Award program is from the Springfield Historic Commission in collaboration with the Springfield History Museum Committee. The awards are to recognize significant achievements in stewardship of the physical and cultural heritage of Springfield, Oregon. These awards recognize a broad array of stewardship activities that increase awareness, appreciation, and support an inclusive perspective of local heritage. There are two award categories: (1) Preservation Excellence Award; and (2) History Maker Award. While the Preservation Excellence Award will focus on projects such as historic preservation/restoration or research/outreach activities, the History Maker Award will focus on a person or entity that demonstrates leadership in shaping, preserving, and fostering appreciation of local heritage — past, present, and future. The nominations from the community included 7 different proposals. The winners of the awards are: History Maker Award - recognizes individuals, organizations, companies and public agencies that demonstrate leadership in shaping, preserving, and fostering appreciation of local heritage — past, present and future. Recipient: Marta Clifford (Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde) Nominator: Stephanie Tabibian Marta has devoted her life's work to bringing awareness of Native American issues in and around the city of Springfield and strives to always be a good caretaker of Kalapuya Illihi. For the last three years she has organized "Poetry in the Park" on National Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Day - an event to advocate for the end of violence against Native Women and draw attention to the high rate of disappearances and murders of Native people. Marta also collaborates with Willamalane, providing guidance on appropriate Land Acknowledgments and park signage, and conducting Kalapuya Talking Stones tours for staff. In addition to all this, and a full-time job, she is the Elder -In -Residence at the University of Oregon Theatre Department and the Native American and Indigenous Studies Academic Residential Community. In Springfield, she helped develop the Illihoo Native Theatre group - the first Native Theatre company in Eugene/Springfield. Whenever there is a community discussion regarding making improvements for Indigenous and Tribal representation in Springfield, Marta is there — always willing to assist, teach and provide feedback. She leads with joy, empathy, and compassion for all those around her. Preservation Excellence Award - recognizes outstanding projects, including but not limited to: restoration, rehabilitation or adaptive use of historic buildings, structures, sites or cultural landscapes; or activities related to the identification, protection and interpretation of heritage resources. Recipient: 215 Main Street(Jordon Graham) Nominator: Jenna Friblev The main goals of rehabilitating 215 Main Street were to remediate severe blight, uncover and restore a rare midcentury asset for Springfield, and to support downtown revitalization by creating viable commercial space. The original Timber Topper restaurant, built in 1957, housed different restaurants over the years at the corner of Main Street and Pioneer Parkway. The fagade was drastically altered in terms of color, material and profile that concealed the midcentury character of the original building. The project removed many layers of added material and revealed the original structure, paying homage to the classic diner and creating a commercial space for Lee's Mongolian Grill. The corner has been transformed into an inviting, bustling eatery once again.