Ann Swanson

Orchid: Distinguished Preservationist

Boise

Ann first came to Idaho and the State Historical Society in 1979. As a package deal with her husband Ken, Ann’s career at the State Historic Preservation Office has perhaps been Ken’s greatest contribution to the historic preservation community across the state. Ann started as a federal grant administrator, and it was a natural progression for her to assume the leadership of the new Certified Local Government program at its inception in 1985. In that role for the past 25 years, Ann has been the face of statewide historic preservation to many communities around the state. In fact, for many of those communities, she is the mother hen who listens, advises, cajoles, and occasionally scolds fledgling preservationists across Idaho. We are pleased to select Ann as Preservation Idaho’s Distinguished Preservationist of 2009.