After six years partnering with the State of Florida to host the Preservation on Main Street Conference, this year we are responding to the needs of our stakeholders by evolving our education programs to meet the variety of ways preservation appears in our state while fitting into people’s lives and careers.

Over the last two years we have engaged in an in-depth listening campaign. What we heard was a deep desire for something other than a four-day conference, a request for ongoing preservation education content, including online, and a need for these solutions to be affordable. As a result, we have decided to broaden our preservation education offerings.

Moving forward we will continue supporting the preservation track at Preservation on Main Street, but will step away from our role as co-host. This will enable us to more fully focus on broadening our educational programs and hosting a standalone preservation conference tailored to meet the specific needs of our audience. We will supplement that with free Lunch & Learns, educational travel events, online educational content and Preservation Toolkit workshops around the state. And we will host Preserve Florida, a shorter, cost effective conference focuses on preservation education in Florida. This year’s Preserve Florida Conference will be in St. Petersburg from May 14 and 15.

The Preserve Florida Conference will be hosted annually as a two-day event inclusive of our 11 to Save Announcement and the Florida Preservation Awards Program. The conference, as well as our other educational programs, will provide AIA and APA Continuing Education Credits, as well as networking opportunities and a chance to experience some of Florida’s unique historic places.

With this change will also come an evolution to our Annual Meeting, which we will provide as free webinar so all our members can equally engage with and learn about the organization.

While we are excited about these changes, we are also especially grateful for the great work done by our colleagues at the Division of Historical Resources, and the commitment they have to make preservation possible in Florida. We look forward to continuing to support and celebrate the great work they do at Preservation on Main Street each year.

More Information: https://floridatrust.org/our-work/preserve-florida-2026