Where are you?
Standing with my good friend Susannah B. Smith of the Sumter City-County Planning department.

Why were you there?
I've known Susannah when she was the director of the Newberry County Planning department 8 years ago and I was on the newly formed Board of Zoning appeals. She has been following the work of the Palmetto Trust and thought it would be the right time to bring us in and meet other local government planners and see how we can help with the issues affecting historic homes and buildings.

Who else did you meet?
Steve Campbell: Building Director, Robert Fleury: Special projects manager; and John Macloskie: quality assurance/continuous improvement manager.

Is there any news from Sumter regarding preservation issues?
The folks I met with are eager to do anything they can to help protect their historic structures from loss through demolition and neglect. Everyone I spoke with understands that their historic buildings are assets to be protected for future development and were very receptive to our being available to help target buildings need to be saved. This town is filled with people who want to improve their quality of life and community standards. Though there are many homes that are in danger of being lost, there is also a lot of willingness and hope that together we can develop some solutions to ensure that preservation will be part of the plan.