Last night we were invited by our friends at American Express to the awards ceremony for Partners in Preservation grant recipients. This program is a joint effort by American Express, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the World Monuments Fund and is committed to providing $10 million in grant money to preserve historic sites and cultural landmarks across the country. They kicked off the program this year in the SF Bay Area, and we were lucky enough to see the winners receive their grant awards.

Twenty-dive locations made the finals, and 13 were awarded sizable grants (everyone received at least $5,000). Nominees were selected based on the number of votes from the community as well as by a panel that made a decision based on the site’s historic significance, project plan, community impact, organizational excellence and completion date.

Being a Bay Area native, it was especially enjoyable for me to see some of my favorite childhood landmarks receive this type of support so that the next generation can also enjoy them. Some of my beloved childhood places on the list included: Tilden Park Carousel, Spreckels Temple of Music (Golden Gate Park Bandshell), Fox Oakland Theater, and Angel Island Immigration Station. Seeing the winners receive their awards was delightful – each winner was announced by a male A Cappella singing group from UC Berkeley, and the crowd loved it.

We hear that Partners in Preservation will be coming to several other cities in the U.S. soon to help communities preserve their landmarks. So look out for them if there’s a local landmark you want to help preserve and renew.

To top off the evening, there were some tasty treats from the famed Paula Leduc catering. The food was over-the-top. First stop was the Chinese station with tasty lo mein noodles and mooshoo pork and chicken. Next stop was grilled rosemary chicken skewers and a delicious selection of toasted yams, sweet potatoes and baby beets. It was a treat to sip Roederer sparkling (one of my favorites), chat with the award recipients, and taste passed hors d’oeuvres such as beggars purses filled with fine caviar and dried prosciutto-shaped canapés filled with manchego cheese.

I was satiated and happy, until someone told me about the mashed potato bar! I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Such a simple idea, but when you serve the potatoes in a martini glass and offer grilled scallions, prosciutto, boneless short ribs, and aged cheddar, it becomes fancy fare. I think I’ll have to copy that for my next party!

The entire evening was fun and it was inspiring to see the awardees happily receive their grants. While we may not have the same deep pockets as American Express, it’s important for us at SmartsCo to support community-based organizations as well. This year, we’re donating 3% of the sales of BabySmarts to the non-profit Nurse-Family Partnership.  They are a wonderful, nationally acclaimed organization that provides highly educated nurses to visit the homes of low-income, first-time mothers, providing support, education and counseling. Stay-tuned, as we’ll be creating some fun BabySmarts events in the New Year to help support them.