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Executive Director Report
By Bruce Coons
Vince Lombardi once said, "The achievements of an organization are the result of the combined effort of each individual."
Thanks to you, our members, partners, supporters, volunteers and employees, SOHO has come a long way in the last few years. We have become one of the largest, most respected, effective and influential Historic Preservation groups in the Nation.
This wasn't always so, just seven years ago we had an annual budget of $2000.00, tremendous debt from the judgment in the T.M. Cobb lawsuit, and some members were even apprehensive about our future. Today things are very different. I am happy to report that our budget for the next fiscal year beginning July 1st will be over a half million dollars, that we have no debt, and we have several hundred thousand dollars in assets. I can assure you that SOHO is definitely here to stay!
Along with financial stability, our preservation successes have been even more impressive. SOHO's strategy of turning potential adversaries into partners has borne great fruit. We have negotiated unprecedented agreements with the San Diego Padres and with the Hotel Del Coronado for the preservation of significant historical resources while at the same time gaining them as powerful new partners in the effort to preserve our heritage. SOHO has just received the President's Award from the California Preservation Foundation in recognition of these achievements and our agreements are currently being used as models in several other cities. SOHO helped convince the San Diego Zoo that demolishing the War Memorial Building was a really bad idea. We raised over $150,000.00 to protect the Warner's ranch house after 80 years of neglect. We convinced Temple Beth Israel that preservation was indeed the best option! We have taken over the operation of the Whaley House for the County and are making great strides in our effort to portray the house as the Whaleys would have known it, including the reintroduction of professional live theatre to where it began in San Diego. This year also marks the first Old House Fair under SOHO management. The newsletter has been expanded from an irregularly published four pages to a 24 page timely periodical. SOHO's visibility is the greatest in our history.
Awareness of how important historic preservation is to the quality of life in San Diego County has never been higher. SOHO is not just riding the crest of this wave; we are building up the ground swell that will continue to maintain San Diego's special sense of place for the future.
Many people have told me that SOHO's work is extremely important and they have expressed their heartfelt thanks for all your efforts. San Diego is indeed a better place for having SOHO in it. We have changed the face of San Diego's future by assuring the preservation of the past. Thank you all for working hard to make this possible. We have made the difference.
Editors note: Printed in part from Executive Director's speech from the 20th annual People in Preservation awards.
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MORE FROM THIS ISSUE
Preservationists & Local Government Join Forces to Save the Hotel San Diego
President's Message
Executive Director Report
Red Roost and Red Rest Update
A Del Mar Landmark Faces Demolition
National Trust for Historic Preservation Lists Quechan Indian Pass Area
Preservation News Along the Border
SOHO Receives Honors at CPF Conference
The 2002 Eleven Most Endangered
Say No To Vinyl Windows
Wanted: Tecate Depot Architect
2002 People in Preservation Awards
A Historian's Legacy of Research and Restoration: Don Covington
Volunteer Profile, Michelle Hamilton
Friends of Mrs. Whaley's Garden
If These Walls Could Talk, the Stories They Would Tell...
Welcome, Webmaster Mike Kelly
Mills Act Information
Strength in Numbers
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