The Kansas Historic Preservation Office has awarded a $20,000 grant to the City of Wichita to bring the 2012 state historic preservation conference to Wichita as a partner with the 4th annual City of Wichita Energy Summit and Fair.
The joint event will take place the last week of January at Century II and the recently restored Broadview Hotel at Waco and Douglas. The Broadview restoration by current owner Drury Southwest was made possible by federal and state historic tax credits.
The co-mingling of the energy and historic conferences will feature techniques for energy efficient practices in historic preservation, nationally-known speakers and the screening of two movie documentaries on energy sustainability. It will also include Energy Conference elements of interest to business, industry and the general public.
The 2011 Regional Energy Conference with the theme “Go Green to Save Green” drew more than 800 persons to the two-day session last January. The annual Historic Preservation Conference draws about 130 participants for its annual three-day event.
“The merging of the Energy and Historic Preservation conferences is a major step forward for the City of Wichita’s sustainability agenda,” said Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer. “It expands the conference to a statewide audience and will result in greater public awareness of energy efficiency.”
