McKuin Looks Toward Future

CANE HILL — The new executive director for Historic Cane Hill, Inc., will focus on building the community and making it a “vibrant place” around the historic landmarks, trails, arts and the architecture.

Vanessa McKuin started as executive director in June and comes with a historical preservation background along with experience working for non-profit organizations. She worked for Preserve Arkansas for eight years, a non-profit group formerly known as Historic Preservation Alliance of Arkansas, and has been development director with KUAR Public Radio in Little Rock.

McKuin’s undergraduate degree is from Hendrix College and then she moved to New York to pursue a master’s degree in historical preservation at Pratt Institute. After graduate school, she moved back to Arkansas to start looking for a job.

McKuin said she and her husband had always hoped to live in Northwest Arkansas at some point. She learned about the Cane Hill position from John Greer, co- chairman of Historic Cane Hill Executive Board, and decided to apply for the job. McKuin and Greer knew each other from Preserve Arkansas.

“This seemed like a great opportunity,” McKuin said.

Greer said the board received five applications for the position, and McKuin was the only candidate interviewed.

McKuin’s experience running a nonprofit organization was a “big plus,” as well as her experience with historical preservation, Greer said.

“All her key components were a win-win for us,” he said. “Historic Cane Hill has worked to preserve existing buildings and wants to sustain what it has, along with an arts component. It was just one of those great fits.”

McKuin said she ’s watched from afar as Historic Cane Hill has restored buildings on site and has seen what the organization has accomplished.

“There’s incredible architecture and incredible history here,” she said.

The nonprofit organization was established in 2013, dedicated to the preservation of historic buildings and property in the area. For its first seven years, Historic Cane Hill focused on saving and preserving the landmarks of the community.

McKuin said her approach will be to build on the community, to continue partnerships and to find new opportunities for partnerships. She said people are enjoying the trails and looking at the historic buildings and she wants to find ways to enhance these outside experiences.

“We recognize the importance of bringing people here and staying here,” she said. “We want people to come and stay awhile.”

Starting a job in June during a pandemic was a “strange time” because the buildings at Historic Cane Hill had been closed to the public, McKuin said. However, it has given her time to work on getting up to speed on how things work in Cane Hill, the “ins and outs,” she said.

She’s been involved with the project to complete the restoration of Cane Hill Presbyterian Church, which is now part of Historic Cane Hill.

McKuin also is helping with the second annual high school art competition, a contest open to all Arkansas students in 10th-12th grades. The grand prize is a scholarship to the University of Arkansas School of Art in Fayetteville.

“This was a very successful high school art competition last year and we plan to do it again this year,” McKuin said.

A decision has not been made yet on whether entries in the competition will be open to the public as an on- site exhibit or virtual exhibit.

McKuin replaced former Executive Director Bobby Braly, who had served in the position about six years and overseen many historic restoration projects in Cane Hill. Braly’s contract had expired. Greer said the executive board decided not to renew Braly’s contract, “pure and simple.”

For the future, Greer said Historic Cane Hill hopes to do more with the landscape in the area, such as the trails and encouraging more people to use the trails. Historic Cane Hill also wants to find more opportunities for people to use the buildings in the community and to form new partnerships with different organizations to increase programs for visitors and groups.

“Vanessa’s biggest challenge is going to be how can you partner with other organizations in the area and in the state to make what we have accessible to people,” Greer said.

McKuin and her husband now live in Cane Hill with their son, Silas, who she said loves the trails, and a yellow “mutt” named Jack. Her husband, Tim, is a teacher with Fayetteville School District.

She said they are enjoying the quiet community and have met many of their neighbors.

“You can tell people take a lot of pride in the area,” McKuin said. “It’s nice to live among that.”

LYNN KUTTER ENTERPRISE-LEADER Vanessa McKuin with Historic Cane Hill, Inc., is in front of the bell tower at Cane Hill College. The bell was brought to the community in the 1850s after being recovered from the steamship Grapeshot, which sank in the Arkansas River. The ship captain was friends with faculty at Cane Hill College and offered the bell to the newly established school, according to “Cane Hill Images of America,” by Bobby Braly.

LYNN KUTTER ENTERPRISE-LEADER Vanessa McKuin, the new executive director of Historic Cane Hill Inc., stands beside Historic Cane Hill College, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The current two-story, brick College building was constructed in 1886 but had fallen in disrepair. Historic Cane Hill Inc., completely renovated the building during a three-phase restoration project.