Oregon Heritage

05/09/2026

Congratulations to the 14 volunteers recognized across the state as the 2026 Standout Heritage Volunteers!

- Ron LeBlanc with the Canby Heritage and Landmark Commission.
- Bob Setterberg, Donna Setterberg, Abby Dawson, and Marvin Dawson with the Oregon Historical Society.
- Al Tocchini with the Travel Information Council Oregon Heritage Tree Committee.
- Cynthia Basye with the Japanese American Museum of Oregon.
- Sharron Matson Rosengarth with the Bend Park and Recreation District Hollinshead-Matson Homestead Museum.
- Colleen “CoCo” Sutton with the City of Coos Bay.
- Judi Wolfer Aus with the Mark Prairie Historical Society.
- Rosemary Johnson with the Oregon Heritage Commission.
- Sarah Silbernagel and Milo Reed with the Oregon Commission on Historic Cemeteries.
- Gwen Trice with State Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation.

https://youtu.be/gA3ZK0GUkDs

Oregon Historical Society
Japanese American Museum of Oregon
Bend Park & Recreation District
Coos Bay - City Government
Mark Prairie Historical Society

Oregon Heritage Excellence Awards recognize individuals, organizations, and projects for outstanding heritage efforts. Learn more by visiting https://www.ore...

05/08/2026

Opportunity for small to mid-size Oregon museums/collecting organizations!

📣 CCAHA’s National Collections Care Capacity Building Program is now open, and full program details are available!

Funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, this initiative offers free planning, assessment, and training services to small and mid-sized cultural heritage organizations nationwide. Participants will work directly with CCAHA staff to shape a customized collections care project aligned with their priorities, from emergency preparedness to digital collections and storage planning.

📅 Applications due June 1

📍 Join our National Planning and Assessment Program Informational Session tomorrow Thursday, May 7 at 12 PM to learn more and ask questions.

Explore the Program Guide, start your application, and register for the webinar: bit.ly/3P9YqOy

05/08/2026

Last week at the 2026 Oregon Heritage Conference, 12 individuals, projects and organizations were honored with a Heritage Excellence Award. Over the course of the week we will be sharing videos of the awardees capturing the work representing outstanding efforts:

Paul Quarino (1942-2024) for his 44 years serving as steward and caretaker of Coos Bay’s Egyptian Theatre’s Mighty Wurlitzer, ensuring that the magic of this 1925 organ – the only theater organ in Oregon in its original location – could be shared with future generations. Egyptian Theatre Coos Bay

https://youtu.be/jQq_dHP0sNQ

(Videos of all award winners can be viewed at https://www.oregon.gov/oprd/OH/pages/awards.aspx )

Oregon Heritage Excellence Awards recognize individuals, organizations, and projects for outstanding heritage efforts. Learn more by visiting https://www.ore...

05/08/2026

Last week at the 2026 Oregon Heritage Conference, 12 individuals, projects and organizations were honored with a Heritage Excellence Award. Over the course of the week we will be sharing videos of the awardees capturing the work representing outstanding efforts:

Rainier Oregon Historical Museum for exemplifying the power of volunteerism, vision, and community dedication in the ten years of establishing their organization through partnerships and community outreach resulting in recent completion of a brand new museum building.

https://youtu.be/DI8-HCkDMAE

(Videos of all award winners can be viewed at https://www.oregon.gov/oprd/OH/pages/awards.aspx )

Oregon Heritage Excellence Awards recognize individuals, organizations, and projects for outstanding heritage efforts. Learn more by visiting https://www.ore...

05/08/2026

Last week at the 2026 Oregon Heritage Conference, 12 individuals, projects and organizations were honored with a Heritage Excellence Award. Over the course of the week we will be sharing videos of the awardees capturing the work representing outstanding efforts:

Rob McIntyre for his community centered approach and dedication to the preservation and restoration of Athena’s historic Gem Theater and Star Saloon ensuring it will continue to educate, entertain, and inspire for generations to come. Athena’s Gem, Inc.

https://youtu.be/VI_cgKKQk1c

(Videos of all award winners can be viewed at https://www.oregon.gov/oprd/OH/pages/awards.aspx )

Oregon Heritage Excellence Awards recognize individuals, organizations, and projects for outstanding heritage efforts. Learn more by visiting https://www.ore...

05/07/2026

Last week at the 2026 Oregon Heritage Conference, 12 individuals, projects and organizations were honored with a Heritage Excellence Award. Over the course of the week we will be sharing videos of the awardees capturing the work representing outstanding efforts:

Jim Proehl is recognized for his dedication to preserving and promoting the history Bandon through his service to the Bandon History Museum society in the forms of leadership, education, communication, collection care, fundraising, and beyond.

https://youtu.be/NbncEaiy-O8

(Videos of all award winners can be viewed at https://www.oregon.gov/oprd/OH/pages/awards.aspx )

Oregon Heritage Excellence Awards recognize individuals, organizations, and projects for outstanding heritage efforts. Learn more by visiting https://www.ore...

05/07/2026

Last week at the 2026 Oregon Heritage Conference, 12 individuals, projects and organizations were honored with a Heritage Excellence Award. Over the course of the week we will be sharing videos of the awardees capturing the work representing outstanding efforts:

Tim Hills, lead Historian for McMenamins Pubs, Breweries & Historic Hotels, is recognized for his dedication to uncovering history and his love of storytelling that made history a foundational pillar of McMenamins. His research and community partner collaboration has influenced the preservation, design, and use of historic buildings and has inspired a culture of appreciating and preserving the past.

https://youtu.be/sDOOsb5-zxs

(Videos of all award winners can be viewed at https://www.oregon.gov/oprd/OH/pages/awards.aspx )

Oregon Heritage Excellence Awards recognize individuals, organizations, and projects for outstanding heritage efforts. Learn more by visiting https://www.ore...

05/07/2026

Last week at the 2026 Oregon Heritage Conference, 12 individuals, projects and organizations were honored with a Heritage Excellence Award. Over the course of the week we will be sharing videos of the awardees capturing the work representing outstanding efforts:

Japanese American Museum of Oregon is recognized for the Japanese American History in Oregon Traveling Trunks project for serving as a critical resource for educators with standards-aligned lessons, primary resources and artifacts, and biographies to bring this essential American story to life and fostering a deeper appreciation for the resilience and contributions of Japanese Americans.

https://youtu.be/_ooqCiPfCw0

(Videos of all award winners can be viewed at https://www.oregon.gov/oprd/OH/pages/awards.aspx )

Oregon Heritage Excellence Awards recognize individuals, organizations, and projects for outstanding heritage efforts. Learn more by visiting https://www.ore...

05/06/2026

Last week at the 2026 Oregon Heritage Conference, 12 individuals, projects and organizations were honored with a Heritage Excellence Award. Over the course of the week we will be sharing videos of the awardees capturing the work representing outstanding efforts:

Paul Falsetto, a Portland architect with three decades of service, for his quality of rehabilitation work, depth of preservation knowledge, and exemplary dedication to the field of historic preservation in Oregon.

https://youtu.be/hm3pVgS_p10

(Videos of all award winners can be viewed at https://www.oregon.gov/oprd/OH/pages/awards.aspx )

Oregon Heritage Excellence Awards recognize individuals, organizations, and projects for outstanding heritage efforts. Learn more by visiting https://www.ore...

01/28/2026

🎉 Announcing the 2026 Oregon Heritage Conference Plenary Speaker:
Monica Rhodes, Strategist, Preservationist, & Scholar 🎉

📆 2026 Oregon Heritage Conference
& Heritage Excellence Awards
April 29-May 2, Woodburn
Weaving Community History

Featured Plenary Speaker: Monica Rhodes
The Next Assignment: Why the Future Will Ask More of Us

The Plenary Speaker is supported in part by a grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Speaker Bio:
Monica Rhodes is an internationally recognized cultural heritage leader whose work is redefining how our nation understands memory and the future of historic places. She is the Founder of Rhodes Heritage Group, a cultural strategy firm pioneering new approaches at the intersection of people, place, story, and capital.
Rhodes created the first nationwide program designed to open the preservation field to new audiences and restructured legacy funding models to honor the full breadth of American history. Her leadership has protected some of the country’s most iconic sites, engaged millions of visitors, and expanded who has the power to shape the past.

A Rome Prize Fellow and Harvard Loeb Fellow, Rhodes has advised the White House as an Expert Member of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, shaping federal policy on cultural heritage and public storytelling. She also serves on the board of the International Council on Monuments and Sites, contributing to global conversations, standards and collaborative models that guide the field.

Her work and insights have been featured in major outlets, including The Washington Post, Essence, Architectural Digest, CBS, PBS NewsHour, and This Old House. Through Rhodes Heritage Group and her speaking engagements, she advances a bold vision for cultural preservation as a catalyst for civic innovation, global exchange, and shared prosperity. She positions history as a strategic resource for shaping the next fifty years, inviting communities, institutions, and international partners to imagine new futures through the lens of a shared past.

More information: Learn more about the conference as events are updated by visiting https://www.oregon.gov/oprd/OH/Pages/heritageconference.aspx.

Registration: Registration will open in Mid-February.

👏 Thank you to conference sponsors:
Oregon Correction Enterprises
University of Oregon Libraries - Historic Oregon Newspapers
Energy Trust of Oregon
Proxi

Thank you to Conference Partners: City of Woodburn Government and Oregon Museums Association