Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
INDIANAPOLIS - Brent Wilcoxson and Dane Miller, partners in the revitalization of Winona Lake, received Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana's Sandi Servaas Memorial Award in Indianapolis Saturday. The award in the individual/corporate category includes a $500 cash prize.
The Servaas Memorial Award recognizes individuals and groups who raise public awareness about historic preservation. It represents the largest cash prize given for preservation efforts in the U.S. Randall T. Shepard, Chief Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court and honorary chairman of Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana, presented the awards at the statewide group's annual meeting held at the Block Building, a former department store undergoing restoration and conversion to apartments.
Shepard commended Miller and Wilcoxson for revitalization based on historic preservation. Wilcoxson accepted the award, a maple sculpture, "No Doors to Lock Out the Past," by Indiana artist John McNaughton. Miller could not attend the event. Wilcoxson requested the cash prize be contributed to the Billy Sunday Home Museum.
Wilcoxson attended Grace College in Winona Lake and developed a vision for revitalizing the village by capitalizing on the legacy of historic buildings that remained from the town's days as the site of a nationally renowned chautauqua. From 1905 to 1914, Winona Lake drew 250,000 visitors each summer. In the early 1990s, it was a place of substandard buildings and slum housing.
Wilcoxson found the perfect cohort in Dr. Dane Miller, founder of Biomet Inc. Together they have restored nearly 30 buildings and fostered the recreation of the chautauqua's artistic atmosphere through their company, Winona Restoration Partners.
The leadership of Wilcoxson and Miller is broadly acknowledged as the inspiration for restoration by others - such as Grace College's acquisition and restoration of the Westminster Hotel.
