Duffy Hoffman has been a loyal and active member of PTN since its inception. PTN’s original goals clearly went straight to Duffy’s heart.While already owning a successful painting business, Duffy shifted to learning correct historic painting techniques and methods for restoring finishes on historic structures. His business and all of his teaching activities have centered on that ever since. He is a passionate advocate, sometimes maybe too passionate, but his energy is unbounded.

His goal in life is clearly to promote the historic trades by using his expertise in painting and other restoration skills to educate anyone who is interested in learning, and even those who aren’t!

He is constantly thinking about how he can involve and inspire people, especially young people, to learn about the importance of restoring historic structures correctly. He has been a constant voice, and a loud one, at PTN events for including the youth. He has spent many months trying to start internship and education programs, especially for underprivileged youth or youth who need an occupation. In Elkins, WV he was involved in the Riverside School Project Youth Empowered Solutions to use an empty building to start a job education program for the youth of the area with historic restoration techniques as part of the curriculum. It is still there and he and I will be teaching workshops there this summer.

Duffy has taught myriad workshops, many at no charge. He has produced a video illustrating correct painting restoration techniques. He makes himself available whenever he is needed to reach and teach homeowners, groups and especially young people how to treat historic structures and how important it is to save them. He has appeared on HGTV’s Restore America and in Old House Journal and Fine Homebuilding. Duffy is a mile a minute talker and can be very forceful in expressing his opinions, but no one can doubt his dedication to the historic trades and the educational goals of PTN. Even when he had a serious stroke, he came back, refusing to let his physical weakness stop his mental insistence on promoting PTN’s goals.

I can personally attest to the fact that Duffy is literally thinking (and talking!) about how he can help youth and PTN from the moment he wakes up every day. It is clearly his main goal in life. I have also been involved in PTN since its inception and I have watched all of the leading characters through the years. We are a group of skilled and opinionated artisans and PTN has gone through many changes and regroupings, but Duffy is one of the strong old guys who started and then stayed with PTN and he deserves to be awarded the Askins Award for his constant faith and attention to the goals of PTN.

Nomination Statement by David Gibney