In June of 1984, Preservation Partners--then called Restorations of Kane County (RKC)--held a special meeting to discuss the possibility of hiring staff. For its first ten years, Preservation Partners had been run entirely by volunteers. As the organization grew, so did the workload. By 1984, Preservation Partners had restored two historic homes (Durant-Peterson House and Beith House), opened these two homes as museums, coordinated numerous field trips at each museum, and organized two large annual fundraisers a year.
To tackle all these tasks, the organization decided to hire staff and they chose Janet Safanda (pictured at left) and her sister-in-law Liz Safanda (pictured at right), "a highly competent and creative pair [who] have made innumerable contributions as RKC volunteers the past few years, most visibly as effective members of the Board of Directors and coordinators of our much lauded interpretive programs." They shared the part-time position of Executive Director and started September 1, 1985.
Janet remained co-executive director until 1993 and Liz continued on as the sole executive director until her retirement in 2018. Their leadership and infectious passion propelled Preservation Partners through many successes and challenges that have made it possible for this organization to serve this community for fifty years.
Thank you for reading! If this story interested, inspired, or informed you, please consider subscribing to our monthly e-newsletter so more of these stories come right to you!
PHOTO: "Our Executive Directors: Safanda & Safanda," Restoration Advocate 6, no. 7 (August 1985), 1. SOURCES: "A Special Meeting of Restorations of Kane County," Restoration Advocate 6, no. 1 (June 1984), 1; "Executive Directors to Begin Duties for Restorations of Kane County," Geneva Republican, August 1, 1985.