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AWARDS

The Preservation Gaston Awards

The Preservation Gaston Awards recognize outstanding people, projects, businesses, and organizations in the field of historic preservation.

The strength of this awards program comes from the work of people who take the time to nominate deserving individuals, organizations, and projects that have made a difference in historic preservation in Gaston County, NC.

By recognizing these outstanding examples of preservation, we hope to inspire more people to consider rehabilitation and re-use of existing buildings and properties.

Preservation Gaston | Photo by Tom Hauer

Awards Categories

Outstanding Preservation / Restoration Award
  • Significant participation in the preservation, rehabilitation, or restoration of structures, sites, historic districts, streetscapes, or gardens.
  • Three Awards:
    • Residential
    • Commercial
    • Other
Outstanding Rehabilitation / Adaptive Reuse Award
  • Significant participation in the repurpose, and/or adaptive use of structures, sites, historic districts, streetscapes, or gardens.
  • Three Awards:
    • Residential
    • Commercial
    • Other
Merit Award
  • To the author or creator of a book, film, project, education program, significant research or writing published or otherwise, available to the public, focused on preservation but not necessarily building-related.
  • A singular piece or body of work that advances the mission of historic preservation.
  • One Award
Outstanding Preservationist
  • Significant accomplishments in preservation that reflect sustained efforts, high standards and integrity, increasing visibility and/or awareness of the county’s historic resources.
  • Volunteers as well as those working in the field of preservation are eligible.
  • One Award
  • This award will begin in 2025.
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Scoring Criteria

Complete Nomination:
  • Are all requested components included?
  • Is the application organized and easy to follow?
  • Are there an adequate number of photos to reflect the nomination and are they labeled (historic, before-and-after, people at work, etc.)?
  • Is the narrative succinct?
Countywide Significance:
  • Degree to which the individual/organization/project has a countywide
    significance and impact.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion:
  • Does the nomination reflect inclusivity?
  • Does the individual, organization or project reflect the history, successes, or stories of more than one group of Gaston Countians?
Community Support:
  • Is there documented support from the local or countywide community for the individual, organization, or project?
  • Is this support specifically reflected through letters of support, events, documented community input, etc.?
Preservation Best Practices:
  • Does the individual/organization or project illustrate best practices in historic preservation?
  • Strict adherence to Secretary of the Interior Standards is not necessary, but a project should be distinguished as a preservation project as opposed to a renovation project.
Creativity and Innovation:
  • Does the individual, organization or project illustrate a creative approach or new method of historic preservation?
Impact:
  • This is the WOW factor. Does the individual, organization, or project illustrate a remarkable transformation, long advocacy effort, or career?
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Application Instructions

  • The deadline for nominations is Sunday, May 5, 2024 at 5:00 pm.
  • All materials must be submitted electronically.
  • Please review the required materials below and have everything prepared for submission before proceeding.
  • Required materials:
    • A completed nomination form, which can be found here.
    • A concise, accurate narrative of 500 words or less about the individual, organization, or project being nominated in Microsoft Word format. The narrative is the basis of the award presentation. If nominating a project, it is helpful to follow a framework of (1) brief historic significance; (2) problem / need; (3) project / solution / outcome; (4) future plans or phases, if applicable. Please be sure to mention how principles of historic preservation were utilized in the project (i.e.: historic wood windows were retained and restored). If nominating an individual or organization, please provide qualifying background and list relevant historic preservation experience/projects to indicate the breadth of experience.
    • At least 10 photos in JPEG or PNG format (300 dpi and HI-RESOLUTION) of presentation quality. This means the file size of the photograph should be at least 800 KB to 1MB file size. The photos are used during the presentation of the award. Please make sure the images provide the best representation of the nomination. These photos should illustrate your nomination from start to finish. For example, if you are nominating a project, please include before and after images. If your nomination mentions a specific feature or person, please make sure there is a corresponding picture to illustrate. Printed photos will not be accepted. Ideally, your submission should include between 10-15 high-quality images of the project/person you are nominating. DO NOT SUBMIT ARTICLES (NEWSPAPER OR OTHERWISE) AS IMAGES.
    • Photo Caption File. This can be a PDF or Word document but it needs to include a list of all the images you submit (identify each image by the file name) and credits/source details for each photo. The captions should clearly describe what is being illustrated. Please include a credit line for every image you submit, exactly as it should be printed. Please keep in mind that the award committee will likely not be familiar with your project or know what they are looking at. Indicate if an image is a “before” or an “after.” If nominating a person, please include several pictures of the person in action for the role you want to be recognized.
    • Up to five supporting materials including: letters of support, news articles, videos, etc. Other potential supporting documents may include but are not limited to Historic Register nomination excerpts (do not attach the full nomination), construction drawings, and brochures. Letters of support are strongly recommended to demonstrate community support.
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