From staff reports
Working with Beaufort city leaders to revamp the zoning code and continuing to protect and preserve Beaufort’s history and architecture will be some of the goals and challenges for the coming year and 2025, Historic Beaufort Foundation Executive Director Cynthia Jenkins said at the group’s annual meeting June 3.
The event was held at Lowcountry Produce on Carteret Street, itself an outstanding example of sensitively adapting an historic structure to a new purpose. Originally built as a U.S. Post Office and then converted to Beaufort’s City Hall, today Lowcountry Produce is a bustling restaurant and market.
At the meeting, HBF members elected to the Board of Trustees Liz Blair, who has been active on the HBF Development Committee and the Soiree committee; Maxine Lutz, former HBF director; and Rev. Alexander McBride, pastor of the historic First African Church on New Street.
Reappointed to three-year terms on the HBF Board of Trustees were Donna Dehncke, Beth Grace, John McCardell and J. Wood “Woody” Rutter. Reappointed to a one-year term were John Troutman and Wayne Vance.
Continuing as board members are Sarah Dyson, Derek Gilbert, Larry Haskell, Rob Montgomery,
Ivey Savage, Drew Scallan and John Tashjian.
Committee chairs include:
· Drew Scallan, Operations Committee;
· Rob Montgomery, Preservation Committee;
· Donna Dehncke, Development Committee;
· Sarah Dyson, Verdier House Committee;
· John McCardell, History Advisory Committee.
Montgomery praised outgoing board member Patricia Battey for her tireless service to HBF over the years. Although she couldn’t attend the meeting, Montgomery will present her with a framed photo of the John Mark Verdier House.
Battey served on the HBF Board of Trustees for multiple stints since the 1990s when she also served as Chairman of the Board and then chairman of the Committee for the John Mark Verdier House where she spearheaded many preservation projects, programs, exhibits and activities for the Verdier House Museum.
About the HBF Board Officers
— Rob Montgomery, HBF’s chair elected for a second term, is a well-known local architect and planner. He has served on HBF’s Board of Trustees since 2015 and has been the chair of the Preservation Committee where he primarily was involved with the Revolving Fund projects, easement protection and management and site monitoring. He has been a long-time champion of the preservation, maintenance and protection of the John Mark Verdier House, from repairing stair rails to managing the 2021 renovation program.
— Beth Grace, re-elected as vice-chair, has served on the board and committees for multiple terms over the years. Along with her many contributions to Beaufort and Beaufort County on boards and commissions, Grace has been an active partner and leader in HBF’s continued growth. She was instrumental in early work on the interior decorative arts collections of the Verdier House, volunteered and chaired numerous committees and events including the Fall Tours and Soiree. She currently serves on the HBF Preservation Committee.
— Marshall Bassett is the secretary for Historic Beaufort Foundation Serving on the Finance Committee since 2020 and the Board of Trustees since 2022. He retired to Beaufort in 2016 from a career in investment management.
— J. Wood Rutter (Woody) continues as treasurer. Former Headmaster of Beaufort Academy, Rutter has served on the HBF Board, including as chair, and is a dedicated preservationist. He has worked with other non-profit boards throughout the world. He will continue as chair of the HBF Finance Committee.
HBF is a 501(c)3 nonprofit education foundation created to preserve, protect, and present sites and artifacts of historic, architectural, and cultural interest throughout Beaufort County, South Carolina.
