HERITAGE PRSERVATION, INC.

Minutes of Meeting, 3-29-04

Those present:  Jim Ingrum, Lee Freeman, Hester Cope, Judy Tiffin, Betty Champion, Vince Brewton, Mary Peck, Bill McDonald, Jerry Dowd, Iva McClure, Billy Warren

1. Jim Ingrum made the motion that the minutes of the 2-23-04 meeting be approved.  Jerry Dowd seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously.
   
    
2. In a discussion of the VHS, DVD and audio CD of "Follow the River: A History of Florence and Lauderdale County," these decisions were made:
   1. On a motion by Bill McDonald, seconded by Vince Brewton and unanimously approved, Billy Warren will order an additional 100 copies of the VHS from the firm in Memphis.
   2. Jerry Dowd will provide a copy of the DVD to Billy Warren who will, in turn, ask the Graphic Arts instructor at Coffee High School to duplicate a copy for each member of the Board of Directors.  The Board members will attempt to play it on their own DVD machine.  If all are successful, the Board will assume that the DVD copies are free of "glitches" and can be sold.
   3. On a motion by Bill McDonald, seconded by Lee Freeman and unanimously approved, copies of the audio CD will be given to the following:

                                                               i.      The eight members of the Florence Film Project,

                                                             ii.      The public libraries in Florence and Lauderdale County,

                                                            iii.      The school libraries in Florence and Lauderdale County, and

                                                           iv.      Collier Library at UNA.

 

Copies will be given first to the eight members of the Florence Film Project.  Other entities listed above will receive free copies when we have additional ones made.

     d.   We will get a local person to create attractive inserts for the covers of the 

VHS, the DVD and the audio CD.

3. Vince Brewton gave this report on the web site:
   1. All pictures of the houses on Wood Avenue that were taken by Mary Peck have now been posted on the site.
   2. The photo montages of Lindsey Stricklin created by Sam Stricklin have been posted.
      
       
4. Lee Freeman will ask Pat Mahan to create a disk of her pictures of old houses in Florence.  Lee will give the disk to Vince Brewton so the pictures can be posted on our web site.
   
    
5. Bill McDonald gave this update on the cemetery project headed by Bob Torbert:
   1. The Florence Cemetery's restoration is the major project right now.  If tombstones and other items in a given plot are at least 75 years old, they may be restored without anyone's approval.  But Bob Torbert will work with families whenever possible to get the restoration work accomplished.
   2. The Price Cemetery near Hough Road has been cleaned, and arrangements have been made to keep it maintained.  The Mussleman family has paid to have a beautiful monument in this cemetery restored.
   3. Bob Torbert will notify HPI of specific ways that it can support the cemetery restoration efforts.
      
       
6. Billy Warren reported that he and Lee Freeman agreed on the purchase of these two books to be placed in the Florence Public Library in memory of Lindsey Stricklin:
   1. T. S. Stribling:  A Life of the Tennessee Novelist by Ken Vickers (an autographed copy); and
   2. Laughing Stock by Randy Cross and Howard Bahr (an autographed copy).
      
       

Billy Warren will suggest to the library staff that these books be added to the permanent Stribling collection (not to the circulating collection) since both are autographed.

 

7. Billy Warren reported that a subscription to National Trust magazine has been ordered for Melissa Bailey, Head of the Florence Planning Department.
   
    
8. Hester Cope reported that "Follow the River" has passed initial judging and remains in place for further judging in its category in the upcoming George Lindsey Film Festival.
   
    
9. Billy Warren reported that the T. S. Stribling Celebration at Coby Hall on Saturday, March 6, was a success.  It featured a lecture by Dr. Ken Vickers, the author of the new biography of Stribling (see item #6 above), and a series of readings from various works by Stribling.
   
    
10. Hester Cope reported that the Shoals Theater Association, the local group in charge of the theater, pays a monthly amount toward the mortgage and pays for other items such as utilities.  Therefore, it has no funds to use toward a new roof which the building needs (at a cost of approximately $110,000).  Hester has submitted a grant proposal to the America's Treasures program; it requires a dollar-for-dollar match.  She hopes to get the matching money from a variety of sources.  Bill McDonald made the motion that HPI give its moral (and financial, if necessary) support to the re-roofing project.  Iva McClure seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously.
    
     
11. Bill McDonald suggested that, at some point before UNA President Robert Potts leaves for North Dakota, HPI send him a letter of appreciation for his support of historic preservation.
    
     
12. Billy Warren distributed copies of the letter of appreciation that he wrote to the eight members of the Florence Film Project.
    
     
13. Billy Warren suggested that Board members visit this web site: http://travel.nostalgiaville.com

He stated that it is an attractive site with a good deal of information about Florence.  However, some of the information, especially the historic district postings, is inaccurate.  It is hoped that we can determine a procedure for making corrections.