[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 71 (Thursday, May 1, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3691-S3692]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TRIBUTE TO PAUL BRUHN
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, one of the people who has done the most to
protect so much in Vermont is Paul Bruhn. We Vermonters know that Paul,
as the executive director of the Preservation Trust, has done an
enormous service by leading conservation efforts to save the very best
of our State.
I ask unanimous consent that the full article by Virginia Lindauer
Simmon, from the April edition of Business People Vermont, be printed
in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
[From Business People Vermont, Apr. 2008]
Past Perfect: Guiding the Conservation of One of the Country's 11 Most
Endangered Places
(By Virginia Lindauer Simmon)
Paul Bruhn hasn't strayed far from his roots. What he has
done is continue to tweak them, to the benefit of us all.
Bruhn is executive director of the Preservation Trust of
Vermont, which he helped to found in 1980. The list of
properties the organization has helped since then--more than
1,500--reads like a compendium of places that make Vermont .
. . well, Vermont.
The organization's story is much broader than preserving
historic structures. The work involves, for example, a
partnership with Mad River Glen to reconstruct and
rehabilitate the single lift chair, an icon of skiing in
Vermont; helping people in Starksboro establish a village
store--so crucial to community life in small towns and
villages; acquiring a geologic site in Isle LaMotte;
encouraging large-scale retailers such as Wal-Mart to
consider building smaller-scale stores in Vermont's
downtowns; underwriting publications that speak to the
Vermont way of life; aiding community-supported agriculture
or a group in Hardwick that, says Bruhn, with contagious
enthusiasm, ``figured out that if you're going to have a good
community and downtown revitalization project, you need a
great small restaurant and pub that serves the entire
community.''
Bruhn's passion for his work makes perfect sense,
especially when it comes to downtowns. He grew up in
Burlington, where his family owned Bruhn Office Equipment on
Church Street--in the same building where Bruhn's office is
today. ``I used to hang out this same window when I was a
little kid watching parades,'' he says.
After graduating from Burlington High School in 1965, Bruhn
studied at Fairleigh Dickinson and the University of Vermont.
``I left without graduating, and just before they were
probably going to throw me out,'' he says with a grin.
At the time, he was working for the Suburban List community
newspaper and its founders, Proctor and Ruth Page. ``I
started out selling advertising at $25 a week,'' he says,
chuckling. ``I was a reporter and took care of the paper when
they were on vacation. They really gave me my start in
life.''
That start included backing him when he launched Chittenden
Magazine, a monthly publication he poured his life into from
1969 to '73, including mortgaging his house for living
expenses. ``Proc and Ruth backed it for four years, and it
was arguably an artistic success and not a real financial
success.'' He laughs heartily. ``That was my real `college'
education.''
When the magazine folded, Bruhn found work with his friend
Patrick Leahy, the state's attorney for Chittenden County, as
a consumer fraud investigator. A year later, he was tapped to
run Leahy's campaign for the U.S. Senate.
``That, obviously, was an amazing experience. I went down
to Washington and served as his chief of staff for four
years. I was 27, and fortunately lots of people took me under
their wing and helped me through the intricacies of the
operation of the Senate.''
Bruhn planned on staying two years, but lasted four, during
which his interest in historic preservation grew.
Returning to Vermont in 1978, he went into consulting,
first helping to organize the restoration of the Round Church
in Richmond. In Washington, he had worked with Leahy on
obtaining federal funding for the development of the Church
Street Marketplace. Back home, he helped put together the
campaign for the required local 10 percent match.
When a group he had encountered during the Round Church
project--the Vermont Council of the Society for the
Preservation of New England Antiquities--decided to start a
statewide preservation organization, Bruhn was hired to run
it, ``because I was available and inexpensive,'' he says with
typical humility.
The Vermont Division for Historic Preservation had provided
a good infrastructure for preservation work in the state,
having worked since the early 1970s on the state survey of
historic places. More than 30,000 buildings and numerous
historic districts are on the state register in Vermont, and
10,000 of those are also on the national register.
Grant-making has been a piece of the organization's work
since the early days, starting with small seed grants of $250
to $500. Funding comes from various sources. In the late
1980s, the organization started the Fund for Vermont's Third
Century to encourage people to celebrate the bicentennial in
ways that would last. It ran for four years leading up to and
through Vermont's bicentennial in 1991.
In 1994, a special partnership was developed with the
Freeman Foundation. ``It would be impossible to overstate how
important it's been,'' Bruhn says. ``We're the nudge, the
supporter, the enabler--and are lucky to have partnerships
like this.'' Funding from the Freeman Foundation has provided
grants to more than 300 projects and played a key role in
over $115 million worth of rehabilitation work, he says.
Bruhn's lively, creative mind, good sense of humor, and
ability to inspire affinity have served him well in his
chosen career. James Maxwell, a Brattleboro attorney and a
member of the board of the Brattleboro Arts Initiative, has
seen this first-hand. He was president of the board in 2000-
2001, when the BAI became involved in buying the Latchis
hotel and theater complex.
``Paul is a man of wide comprehension as to the needs of
downtowns in Vermont, and I would venture to say in the
country as a whole,'' says Maxwell. ``Not only is his
knowledge comprehensive, but he is a feeling human being,
someone who resonates with groups that he works with and is
of incredible assistance, not only in the nuts and bolts of
how you go putting together a deal, but also how you move
things along.
``He is a congregator. Without getting up on the pulpit and
giving a sermon, he is able to congregate people in a
situation.''
This talent and Bruhn's understanding of the benefit of
being willing to change with the times have helped keep the
organization strong.
He inspired change 10 years ago, when the organization
entered a nationwide competition sponsored by the National
Trust for Historic Preservation and the Mellon Foundation,
seeking ideas on how to improve the delivery of services and
the effectiveness of the historic preservation movement
nationally.
Vermont was one of two states whose submissions were
chosen, says Bruhn. ``We were selected for developing a
program for providing field services, so instead of providing
support to local organizations via telephone calls and some
visiting in the field, we would hire two part-time people who
would spend the vast majority of their time in the field
working with local organizations helping them move their
projects along.''
The Preservation Trust of Vermont received a significant
grant ``It was $170,000, and that was 10 years ago,'' says
Bruhn--which provided full funding the first year, 70 percent
the second year, and 30 percent the final year.
The program so impressed the National Trust, it recently
dedicated a $5 million grant it received to helping other
statewide organizations establish their own field service
programs.
Another big change came, says Bruhn, when Robert Hoehl, the
co-founder of IDX, and his wife, Cindy, purchased the former
Camp Marycrest from the Sisters of Mercy, then donated it to
the Preservation Trust in 1997. ``We had not owned property
prior to that--hadn't dreamed of owning property--but this
was an amazing opportunity.''
The organization gratefully accepted and formed a
partnership with caterer and former restaurateur and
innkeeper Beverly Watson, who leases the property. ``We use
it largely for weddings on weekends during the summer. During
the week, it's used for retreats and training.''
A big turning point was in 1993, when Vermont was named an
endangered state by the National Trust. This brought the
issue of sprawl to the fore. ``We became a much more visible
organization,'' he says, and work very closely with citizen
groups and partners like the Vermont Natural Resources
Council and Smart Growth Vermont on the issue of sprawl and
the negative impact that big-box retailing can have on our
downtowns and village centers and how they change downtowns.
In 2004, the National Trust again named Vermont one of the 11
most endangered places in the nation.
Bruhn was the only staff person early on, and even today,
the staff is small, with the equivalent of four full-time
employees.
The other full-timers are Elise Seraus, the office manager/
administrative assistant, and
[[Page S3692]]
Ann Cousins, who splits her hours between field services and
fund raising. Bill Polk, the financial officer, works one day
a week. Eric Gilbertson, who was deputy director of the
Vermont Division for Historic Preservation and recently
retired after almost 30 years, works half time in field
services. Meg Campbell, also half time, manages the facade
easement program, does field services in Bennington County,
manages the Web site, and produces the electronic newsletter.
Because he's been with the organization for so many years,
Bruhn says, ``there are people who say, `Well, the
Preservation Trust, it's just Paul Bruhn.' It's not even
close to that.''
``I've always had a very strong, very involved board of
directors who provide a lot of the direction for the
organization.'' The directors, he says, genuinely like each
other, are very proud of the organization, ``but that doesn't
stop them from having good disagreements and good debate.''
The secret to keeping a board active and involved, he says,
is to have two-day board meetings four times a year. ``In
February, in the middle of a snowstorm, we went on a two-day
tour around the northern part of the state.'' He counts off
eight towns (and multiple projects within them). ``We talked
all the while on the bus, a great discussion about what's
happening in Vermont, how the community's doing, and this
work--the support we try to give to local organizations.
On the importance of the organization's downtown work,
Bruhn is adamant. ``I love downtown Burlington. I grew up
here, helped secure funding for the Marketplace when I was
working for Sen. Leahy; but downtown Burlington has become
one that focuses on entertainment, high-end retail and
tourism. We get that there are a lot of people in Vermont who
need to be able to shop at a place like Wal-Mart, but
wouldn't it be terrific if Wal-Mart would be interested and
willing to build a smaller-scale store in downtown
Burlington? It would insure that downtown Burlington would
serve the entire community.''
Bruhn pauses and takes a breath. ``We're not in favor of
pickling Vermont,'' he says. ``On the other hand, we've got
to find ways to grow that reinforce what's important about
our place. It's essential that we are good stewards of our
place.''
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