Join us to celebrate 51 years of preservation in the Bath midcoast area. SPI has successfully maintained the Winter Street Center and Church, the buildings are in very good condition. The Board is currently exploring the highest and best use of these buildings. What is a sense of place without direct experience? How can historic buildings contribute to a community? Our guest speaker is Anne Ball, Sr. Program Director, Maine Downtown Center, Maine Development Foundation

Anne became Program Director in 2016. The Maine Downtown Center is a statewide resource for downtown revitalization and serves as the Coordinator for the National Main Street Program.  She originally joined the MDF in 2012 as a consultant to coordinate Healthy Maine Streets, a three-year CDC Community Transformation Grant and Grants to Green Maine, a partnership with Maine Community Foundation and Efficiency Maine. Previously Anne was the Cultural Heritage Tourism Coordinator for Maine’s Department of Economic and Community Development.  She was a consultant for many organizations including: Maine Preservation, Maine Humanities Council, Maine State Museum, and private architecture firms and communities.

Anne is skilled at getting diverse partners to work together, learn each other’s languages, and bring new energy to their work.  She has a strong passion for the preservation of downtown communities and sees the clear connection between open and welcoming communities as indicators for health, quality of life, and a strong economy. Anne has a BS from St. Lawrence University and an MA in Historic Preservation from Boston University.

In addition to Anne’s presentation, SPI will be presenting Historic Preservation Awards for outstanding community service and historic building restoration projects.

Light refreshments at 5:30 pm.

We welcome everyone interested in historic buildings to attend this meeting.