Recently, Susan B. Dyer and the Friends of the Holt Home, Inc. received The Ida Lee Willis Memorial Foundation Grassroots Preservation Award in Maysville, Kentucky on May 17.

The award was in recognition of their unwavering commitment to bring attention to Judge Joseph Holt’s life and contributions to the Commonwealth and the nation as President Abraham Lincoln’s Judge Advocate General; and for their extraordinary efforts to foster a strong preservation ethic in Breckinridge County through the restoration and promotion of the historic Holt Home and grounds.

The purpose of the foundation is to recognize and honor worthy historic preservation efforts of all sizes across the Commonwealth. Since the foundation’s beginning they have done this by sponsoring Kentucky’s signature preservation awards each year to highlight outstanding projects, service, and commitment. Nominations for the awards are invited from the public, reviewed by a panel of judges representing the foundation, state agencies and affiliated nonprofits. The awards are presented at an annual ceremony each May recognized as National Historic Preservation Month.

Each year many individuals, businesses, organizations, and local governments make significant contributions to preservation of Kentucky’s heritage. Through rehabilitation of an important building or structure, advocacy, investment of time or resources, or a lifetime commitment to encouraging and promoting historic preservation in the Commonwealth, all demonstrate an understanding of and appreciation for value of preservation and reusing Kentucky’s historic resources and protecting archaeological sites.

Since 1979, the Ida Lee Willis Foundation was chartered in honor of Ida Lee Willis, the first state historic preservation officer and director of the Kentucky Heritage Commission known today as the Kentucky Heritage Council/State Historic Preservation Office.