Kris Bex at Culver Kiwanis
I had the opportunity to introduce Kris Bex of The Remnant Trust to the Culver Kiwanis yesterday. The Remnant Trust is an organization that collects and preserves documents from the 19th century and older. They concentrate their collection on documents that promote the concepts of Liberty and Dignity. They currently have 1206 cataloged works with more being added to their collection as important works become available.
Kris has been President of The Remnant Trust since its inception in 1997. He explained how the idea for the organization came about for this group in the late 80’s/early 90’s. He also spoke about how they came to be located in Winona Lake. It is obviously very much a personal mission for him and he explained how some of his family inspired the creation of the trust. He has board of directors that he reports to which he said, “Limits his Indiana Jones style adventures…”, but he does travel the nation with examples of the works held in their trust.
One of the unique things about their organization is their belief that these documents should be shared with the public. Members of the Kiwanis Club were afforded the opportunity to see some of these documents up close. The opportunity to actually see an original copy of the Federalist Papers is a unique and exciting event. That document was included in the samples brought for the club to examine. Authors represented in the trust include Aristotle, Adam Smith, Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther, John Milton, Plato and Alexis de Tocqueville among others.
The Book Vault at The Remnant Trust in Winona Lake
Kris spoke about the care that is taken in preserving and presenting the documents under his protection. He kindly acknowledged our help in creating their facility in Winona Lake and briefly discussed the systems in place to protect them. Not unlike the protection systems some of you may have seen in the movie Angels and Demons, humidity and temperatures are controlled tightly and a specialized fire suppression system is employed that will squelch a fire by removing oxygen from the room while avoiding any residual chemical damage to the books. Unlike those books and documents in the movie, The Remnant Trust believes their collection should be shared with the public. Access is obviously controlled, but they do hold public events. If you are interested in attending one, there is a list of public exhibit dates here.
You can find some additional information on our part in constructing The Remnant Trust facility in Winona Lake here in our blog. Just search for The Remnant Trust in the search box on the right. It was also interesting to learn that Kris attended Hillsdale College, though the group has no affiliation. Some of you may recognize the Imprimis, a publication of Hillsdale College that I have included in the miscellaneous links in the side bar of this blog since its origin.
This is a project we’re extremely proud to include in our portfolio and I was pleased to be able to bring a piece of it to Culver for my friends at the Kiwanis Club to experience. Thank you Kris for making yourself available to give an interesting presentation.
Entitlements
Random Thought: At what point did it become okay to refer to government subsidy programs as “entitlements”? It’s scary that it’s moving up in the definition list! Apparently the third definition has a lot to do with the second definition getting out of control…
Primary Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition of “entitlement”: The state or condition of being entitled.
Secondary Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition of “entitlement”: A government program providing benefits to a specified group.
Third Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition of “entitlement”: The belief that one is deserving of or entitled to certain privileges.
Career Day 2012
Wednesday was Career Day at Culver Middle School and I agreed to speak again this year. I think this is the third year that I have done this and I’m going to recycle my stolen Batman cartoon… just because I really like it! Ha! I didn’t have Batman to compete with this year, but Jeff Kenney was discussing the glamorous life of a journalist, so I’m guessing I was shown up. (Last year it was the police dog handler that I had to compete with. I’m sure he would have given Jeff a better run for his money!)
I spoke about my degree in Landscape Architecture and my current career in construction. I discussed the importance of math, verbal & written communication and art in my career. I discussed the changing community standards and how Landscape Architects influence them. I discussed why Landscape Architecture is a licensed profession and what that requires. I also took them through a rough site development plan, so they got a taste of how all those things come together. I tried to relate that to the various maps in the room since I was presenting in the Geography room.
It’s hard to find time for these things, particularly in the current business climate, but that doesn’t mean they’re not important. I know that I didn’t know what a Landscape Architect was until I went to college. (Somehow I don’t think Rob Schneider’s show “Rob” is helping our cause any either, when he starts to describe his job as a Landscape Architect to his new mother in law and she cuts him off with, “Yeah, I get it. My daughter married a gardener.”) Hopefully my talk planted a seed in some of their minds that will help them make a decision for or against pursuing a similar career.
As usual there was a mix of interest in the room ranging from rapt attention to dozing. I gave the same (similar?) presentation to five groups and the teacher monitoring the class said it was interesting to see where I veered off from the previous presentation. After doing this the first time I figured out that having at least a rough outline was important since after three or four it gets hard to tell what I’ve said to what group.
All and all it was a good experience. I would recommend considering accepting if you’re asked to speak.
Oh, and by the way, it’s National Landscape Architecture Month! I’m sure you knew that, but if you didn’t, I’ve fulfilled an obligation to the profession as well.
Okay, this kitten really is cute!
Okay, I’m not much of a cat lover, but this kitten really is cute.
Culver Garden Court Ribbon Cutting
Yesterday was the Open House and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for Culver Garden Court. I want to thank all of the Culver people that made this project possible that turned out for the event. The Culver Town Council was represented by Ed Pinder and Bill Githens. (Ralph Winters, a former Town Council member who was instrumental in getting this project approved, was there as well.) The Plan Commission was represented by Ralph Winters. The Culver Redevelopment Commission was represented by Jerry Ney. Pete Trone also came. (Pete was instrumental in helping get the needed variances while he was on the Culver BZA.) The Culver Chamber of Commerce was represented by Sue McInturf, Tony Sellers and Greg Fassett.
Reverend Liechty, President of Garden Court, Inc., was the keynote speaker. He made a nice speech introducing the attending dignitaries and giving some history regarding the organization. He allowed me to speak and I explained how we had worked to make this project happen for over 10 years and through four Town Managers. We both thanked Wade and Claudia McGee for making the property available. I also congratulated the various Town Boards and Commissions for taking the additional steps to annex the surrounding 80 acres, change its zoning and start water and sewer lines to open the area to additional affordable housing.
Reverend Liechty will be stepping down as President of Garden Court and retiring from the board when they elect officers this coming November, so after 7 Garden Court projects, Culver Garden Court will be the last project where we work with him. I took the chance to publicly thank him for the opportunity to work with him and thanked him for his guidance and friendship through the years.
All in all it was a good day. The sun was shining. There was a good turn out. I heard nothing but good comments about the project.
