There’s going to be a heckuva lot of Route 66 brainpower sitting in one room in Albuquerque next month.
The newly formed advisory council of the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program will meet Feb. 9-10 at the Hotel Albuquerque in Old Town.
The council was established to recommend ways to preserve important properties along Route 66, guide the awarding of grants and cost-share awards to those property owners, and provide technical assistance.
The list of people picked for the advisory council is impressive. I’m confident this group will provide the proper guidance for the Route 66 Corridor program.
The members are:
- David P. Bricker, California Department of Transportation;
- James M. Conkle, California Route 66 Preservation Foundation;
- David King Dunaway, University of New Mexico;
- Melvena Heisch, Oklahoma Historical Society;
- Michael Jackson, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency;
- David Knudson, National Historic Route 66 Federation;
- John W. Murphey, New Mexico Historic Preservation Division;
- MaryAnn Naber, Federal Highway Administration;
- Carolyn Gallagher Pendleton, Kansas Historic Route 66 Association;
- Tommy Pike, Route 66 Association of Missouri;
- Jim Ross, Oklahoma Route 66 Association;
- Phyllis T. Seitts, Bureau of Land Management;
- Gregory William Smith, Texas Historical Commission;
- R. Scott Taylor, Missouri Department of Transportation;
- Michael Wallis, biographer and author of “Route 66: The Mother Road.”
I should add that Michael Taylor and Kaisa Barthuli have done a marvelous job performing their duties with the Route 66 Corridor program. In the years we’ve known them, we’ve seen them become enthusiastic supporters of Route 66. They’re bureaucrats by their own admission, but their actions and energy belie the term.
The meeting will begin at 8:30 a.m. Feb. 9 and will end by 1 p.m. Feb. 10. It will be open to the public. However, facilities and space are limited, and will be on a first-come, first-served basis.
Those wishing for more information about the meeting or who wish to submit written statements about the program may write Taylor at National Trails System-Santa Fe, National Park Service, P.O. Box 728, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87504-0728, or call (505) 988-6742.