Stuart heads up Preservation League
Jim Stuart has been named executive director of the Abilene Preservation League, the city’s 40-plus year-old historic watch organization, announced James Wagstaff, president of the League’s board of trustees.
Abilene Preservation League is a membership-based advocacy and education resource for historic preservation.
In the position of executive director, Stuart administers and directs program planning, public relations and marketing communications, fundraising, board and membership development, financial management and personnel responsibilities for the organization.
“This job represents a unique opportunity, both to reinvigorate this exceptional organization and also to inspire a common vision for this great city’s shared heritage,” Stuart said. “I’m humbled to be chosen and eager to apply my skills and experience to the challenge.”
An enthusiastic preservationist and longtime advocate, Stuart has restored three Craftsman bungalows.
For 15 years, Stuart was chief executive officer of Stuart Bacon Advertising ~ Public Relations, in Fort Worth, the agency he founded in 1987 with Randy Bacon, an Abilene native. The agency served a variety of local, regional, national and international clients with full-service advertising and public relations capabilities.
Work for Stuart Bacon clients was frequently recognized with advertising industry awards, as well as with marketing communications honors from several client industries.
A native of Lamesa, Texas, Stuart attended Texas Christian University and received a bachelor of business administration degree in marketing/advertising from Texas Tech University. Stuart received the Professional Ethics Award from the Bob Schieffer College of Communication at TCU in 1998. Two years later, he was named an outstanding alumnus of the College of Media and Communication at Texas Tech.
In 2009, Stuart moved to Albany, where, with former business partner Randy Bacon, he planned, designed and built residences, and developed and operated commercial property, including Biscuit, a popular café and bed-and-breakfast operation on the county’s historic courthouse square.
Since 1977, Abilene Preservation League has celebrated the city’s historic built environment – places that reflect the history and character of the city. Through charitable support, advocacy, education, recognition and volunteerism, APL seeks to inspire Abilenians to respect, to save and to preserve the past, ensuring for all a richer, more informed future.
The Abilene Preservation League offices are in The Elks Arts Center, one of the city’s most conspicuous restoration projects, at 1174 North First Street at Cedar. The office can be reached at 325-676-3775 or abilene preservation.org
