Nancy Hollows was honored for her commitment to preservation and revitalization in New Bern.

Nancy Hollows has been at the forefront of preservation in New Bern for many years — both in her career as a real estate agent and in her personal life. She has served the New Bern Preservation Foundation in a variety of capacities. She and her husband, Bill, have personally restored several buildings in town, including the historic 1790 Cox-Stewart House and the 1930 Pinnix Drug Store.

Through her real estate business, Nancy specializes in historic properties and counsels buyers about restoration opportunities and advises them about specialists in the field. She also educates other real estate agents through a seminar on the effects of preservation easements on residential and commercial properties.

Nancy has fought for the cause of preservation time and time again, rallying opposition to any project that threatens a historic property. In 1987, she spoke out against the proposed New Bern library expansion that would have caused the destruction or relocation of seven homes. Her efforts paid off in a compromise that resulted in the moving of only one building and the demolition of one other.

Nancy is working to generate community interest in restoring New Bern's Union Depot. She has also organized the Dryborough Neighborhood Association in a historically black community and promoted the preservation of the Queen Street Corridor, a racially mixed area of businesses and neighborhoods.

Recently, she was a key leader in the formation of New Bern's Preservation Legal Action Trust, which challenged demolition permits within the city's two historic districts on procedural grounds. Nancy spearheaded a group of city officials, Historic Preservation Commission members, and concerned citizens who examined options for legally protecting historic-district properties. This effort led to the passage of local legislation allowing the city to prohibit the demolition of contributing structures within its locally designated historic districts. In 2007, the New Bern Board of Alderman approved an ordinance that not only delays but halts demolitions of contributing structures — one of only a handful of such ordinances in the state.

Hollows's love of preservation permeates through her personal and professional life and the effects are felt by everyone in her community. Preservation North Carolina is proud to award a 2008 Gertrude S. Carraway Award of Merit to Nancy Hollows for her commitment to the revitalization of New Bern.