University Club Receives Community Service Award

 Historic Preservation Society was recently recognized for exceptional community service by the University's Student Senate. Several members of the group were also given awards for their individual contributions. Collectively, members of the Historic Preservation Society have hundreds of man hours at historic Bristol treasures such as Coggeshall Farm, Mount Hope Farm and Linden Place.

In addition, several Society members helped host a preservation planning workshop in Warren, where residents had the opportunity to ask questions and voice concerns about local preservation efforts.  Other members assisted with a conservation assessment for New Bedford's Orpheum Theatre.

The Society’s award was due in part to glowing testimonials from local beneficiaries, including Jim Connell, Linden Place’s Executive Director. Members of the Society cleared the barn at Linden Place (and the future home of the re-energized Bristol Art Museum) of a century’s worth of trash and treasure.

According to Connell, The “professional and enthusiastic” Preservation Society students “filled a ten ton dumpster and carefully considered every artifact in their path from nails to decorative wooden moldings to flea market junk... D.J. Sevigny, Duane Houghton and the entire gang deserve praise for spending their free time on weekends and evenings helping a non-profit which like so many non-profits struggles to recruit volunteers. They not only provided 'muscle' and enthusiasm but also expertise they've learned while studying historic preservation at RWU.”

Houghton, a graduate of the University’s Historic Preservation program, co-organized the barn cleanup and other service projects along with Sevigny.

In all, the Historic Preservation Society won the award for Outstanding Community Service and was nominated for both Comeback Club of the Year and Club of the Year.  Individually, Duane Houghton was nominated for Club Member of the Year, Society President D.J. Sevigny was nominated for the Award for Individual Excellence, and Arnold Robinson was nominated for Club Advisor of the Year by the Student Senate and Student Programs & Leadership.

Further, at the Academic Achievement Awards Dinner, sponsored by Student Affairs and Alpha Chi Honors Society, Robinson won the Dr. Mark Gould Award for Commitment for Student Learning, largely due to his dedication to the success of the Historic Preservation Society.  Sevigny won the award for the University & Community Service in Historic Preservation, and Society member Alex Skerry won the Award for Academic Excellence.

According to outgoing President Sevigny, newly-elected Historic Preservation Society President Carolyn Reid is committed to the club's relationships with the historic sites in the community.