As a Founding Mother and its longest-serving president, Nancy Polivka was a significant figure in the establishment and success of Preservation Partners of the Fox Valley.
She led committees such as Publicity, Furnishings, Tour Guides, and Education for the Durant-Peterson House before being elected as President in 1978. Polivka’s turn as president was from 1978 to 1981 and from 1983 through 1984 for a total of six years.
In August of 1979, Polivka summarized the purpose of Preservation Partners writing, "We are preserving our past, to be an educational tool for our citizens in the present, and so it will not be lost to our grandchildren in the future... [T]his organization can and will grow into a large, vital and effective instrument in the preservation and restoration of our local heritage."
Also in 1979, Polivka teamed up with Karen Kelly-Beith to co-chair the Beith House Preservation Committee which saved and restored the 1850 limestone home on the Fox River in St. Charles. Near the end of her presidency, Polivka led the board in considering the hiring of part-time staff which the board approved in 1985.
In her final message as president, Polivka reflected that "it has been my primary concern, out of my home, to keep RESTORATIONS OF KANE COUNTY a viable, responsible, and competent organization. I sincerely believe that this has been achieved, but only through the pouring out of cooperative effort by hundreds of wonderful people who believe in the importance of preserving our heritage for our and future generations."
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SOURCES: "A Thought or Two from Your President," Restoration Advocate 1, no. 2 (August 1979): 1; "The Beith House, Restoration Advocate 1, no. 3 (October 1979):2; "Letter From Our Outgoing President," Restoration Advocate 6, no. 6 (April 1985): 4.