Jane has been an active and supportive member of the Preservation Trades Network (PTN) since its conception many years ago. Jane’s lifetime involvement in preservation spans over 30 years and even more but she might not appreciate me divulging the exact amount! As a young girl growing up, Jane would visit historic houses and structures throughout the state of Kentucky with her mother, an architectural historian. Jane’s father and her two older brothers were also involved in restoration and construction, so it comes with no surprise that preservation, restoration, and rehabilitation of dry stone structures are an everyday part of Jane’s life, nation-wide.

Jane qualified as a Landscape Architect in Lexington, Kentucky and with her additional qualifications as a botanist, her wealth of knowledge and expertise in the stone industry make her an incredible asset in the preservation industry.

Jane has been an integral part of the Dry Stone Conservancy almost from its beginning in 1996. During that time Jane has organized millions of dollars of restoration and training projects and coordinated scores of introductory workshops all over the United States. She has worked and collaborated with staff from over 25 National Parks throughout the length and breadth of the country.

Over the two decades with the Dry Stone Conservancy Jane started to help out as a part time employee moving up to the present day as the Executive Director of the organization. Jane helped develop the Conservancy's multi-level mason’s certification scheme available for stone masons all over the country in advancing their career in dry stone construction from a beginner’s level, followed by the journeyman level and finally the master craftsman level. Jane also helped develop the training handout booklet for the Dry Stone Conservancy and many other information guides that create an amazing resource for the training program. Jane also helped create and edit 3 of the 4 DVDs that the Conservancy uses and sells for training purposes. Jane’s unlimited skills have built bridges in practical terms and in educational terms working closely with Departments of Transportation in many states which include, Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee, Maine, New York, and Minnesota. Jane’s attributes and skills don’t just stop in Kentucky or the United States, Jane has been fortunate to travel to many countries sharing her knowledge in preservation philosophy and stone traditions from Ireland, England, Canada, France, and of course in many U.S. states.

I believe it would be safe to say that Jane is the brightest star in my constellation of inspiration and I would have no hesitation in nominating Jane for this year’s 2019 Askins Achievement Award.

Written by Neil Rippengale.