Every dollar raised during the gala supports our work defending Utah’s unique architectural heritage. It also helps us educate communities, advocate for preservation policies, and empower property owners to protect their historic sites. With your help, we can save the historic fabric that makes our neighborhoods vibrant and meaningful.
Join us at the "Windows Into Time" gala to celebrate the stories embedded in Utah's past and help us safeguard these treasures for the future. Together, we can ensure that our shared history continues to inspire, educate, and connect future generations.
Keynote Speaker - The Curious Call of Place
What is it about buildings and places that beckon us to this work? Have you ever had a pin-prickly feeling that you were there for reasons you couldn’t quite explain? Places have the curious power to call us, sometimes in uncanny ways. We just feel something when we stand where others lived and built the foundations of community. We see beauty where others see blight. We are placemakers who tell the stories of those who came before, and we elevate those who are here today. We create a sense of belonging, and we see that magic happens when people belong. Together, we will share not only the inspiration behind our preservation work but also delightful coincidences that leave us shaking our heads. You can’t make this stuff up.
Rhonda Lauritzen is a professional biographer who has written a dozen books and is a regular presenter at regional and international conferences. She has an MBA from the University of Utah and served as CEO of her family business, working alongside six brothers. In 2016, she quit her job as a VP at the Ogden-Weber Technical College to become a full-time writer. Since then, Rhonda has been hired to help tell the stories of families, buildings, and communities. Her next nonfiction book, A Child in Berlin, will be released by Post Hill Press on October 29. She believes that when you tell your story, it changes the ending.