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Annual Report 2005
SOHO continues to grow stronger everyday
By Bruce Coons
 Among a host of accomplishments this past year is that our financial health is at the strongest in our organizations 36-year history. We have taken in more, spent more and yet retained more revenue than ever before. The accompanying charts reflect our steady and continued growth over the past five years.
We have been equally effective in protecting our historical resources and winning the great majority of our battles. Consequently, our public visibility and membership has increased along with our status as a leader among historic preservation organizations in the nation. We are a county-wide organization and our advocacy work this past year has reflected this fact, from Otay to Oceanside, from Borrego Springs to the ocean, we have worked hard to protect the historic legacies of San Diego County.
Along with the five historic properties at the Whaley House complex we have added to our museum operations the Old Adobe Chapel, which is traditionally one of San Diego's most revered buildings.
We have substantially increased attendance at our educational events and visitation to the Whaley House. The focused effort of teaching by example the viability and economic sense of historic tourism has paid off.
We continue to build our educational programming and our outreach. In the Old Town community we have been very successful working with businesses and public agencies to increase awareness of the area's many historic sites.
A record contribution of volunteer hours has allowed us to expand our programs to reach ever-larger audiences. Our mid-century historic home tour in Borrego Springs in which we partnered with the Borrego Chamber of Commerce was a great success and drew more than two hundred and fifty people into this desert community.
Along with this added programming we have expanded our staff. We now have three full-time administrative employees and nineteen part-time docents and Museum Shop staff. Our volunteer docents have helped to fill the need as our summer hours at the Whaley House and Museum Shop expanded to seven days a week from 10am to 11pm. I would be remiss if I did not point out that among the many volunteers for SOHO, our treasurer is a full-time volunteer and her contribution cannot be overstated.
The youth docent program has been one of our proudest accomplishments. At the end of this summer three of these young people will be leaving for college. They began working as docents as 14 to 16-year-olds and have committed enormous amounts of time and care to the museum. They are exemplary examples of their generation and we we will miss them.
This past year we received our first TOT (Tourist Occupancy Tax) funding from the City of San Diego.
And as ever, it is SOHO members that are our greatest asset. Many of you have contributed much more this past year and have also renewed your memberships at a higher level.
This year promises even more growth. We need to put SOHO in a condition to sustain the organization's financial health while increasing its influence. We need to build the Preservation Revolving Fund to a level where it can be an effective tool for the purchase of endangered sites. SOHO needs an endowment that ensures its long-term financial health. We also need to add additional employees, which will allow us to become even more effective, and we need more funds to be competitive in attracting and retaining the best people.
We need all of you to help us be the best we can be. Let's continue our great success and build a future for our past. We need all of you to help us be the best we can be.
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MORE FROM THIS ISSUE
Annual Report
Remember the Alamo
Court Rules
Historical Resources Board - Safe for Now
ASAA Government Affairs Program
Volunteers Make the Difference!
House to be Saved & New Group Formed
Building Ordinance Adopted
Most Endangered List of Historic Resources
Resurrection on El Prado
Courtyards: Intimate Outdoor Rooms by Douglas Keister
Researching James Hubbell
A Beautiful Evening: People in Preservation Awards
SOHO's Annual Meeting: September 24
Glossary of Terms
The Historic Derby-Pendleton House
Meet Victor Santana, Whaley House Head Docent
Volunteerism is at the Heart of the Preservation Movement!!
Found San Diego: Schoolhouse
Craftsman House Available
House by Modernist Architect Gregory Ain Discovered
Don't Miss SOHO's San Diego Modernism Weekend 2005
Strength in Numbers
Lost San Diego
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