The University of Florida Historic Preservation Program awarded the 2017 Beinecke-Reeves Distinguished Achievement Award to John Patrick Regan, the city manager for St. Augustine. This award is named in honor of Walter Beinecke, Jr. and Professor Emeritus F. Blair Reeves.
“Reeves was the founder and developer of the historic preservation program at the University of Florida and both he and Beinecke worked together with the Nantucket Historic Trust, which led to the intuitive teaching partnership now known as Preservation Institute Nantucket (PIN),” UF Historic Preservation Program Director Morris Hylton, III said. “Beinecke and Reeves were both awarded the coveted Crowninshield Award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation for their accomplishments in historic preservation.”
Regan, a UF Environmental Engineering graduate, has been St. Augustine’s city manager since 2010. He has worked for the City of St. Augustine since May 1998, first as utilities director and then as chief operations officer.
Jenny Wolfe, MSAS ‘06, historic preservation planner for the City of St. Augustine, said that Regan “leads with the premise that [the City’s] historic resources are essential assets to the quality of life of residents and they are an economic engine for business and tourism.”
Regan is a member of the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation. He was presented the Annual Award for the Preservation of St. Augustine, Inc. in 2014.
Two years later, he was awarded the medal of the Order of Isabella the Catholica by King Felipe VI of Spain. This recognition was for his continuous work on the cultural relationship between the U.S. and Spain, culminating in the 450th anniversary of the founding of the City of St. Augustine.
Regan is also a member of the UF Historic Preservation Program Board of Advocates.
The Beinecke-Reeves Distinguished Achievement Award was created in 2004 to honor professionals who most embody the “Spirit of Historic Preservation” in Florida and beyond. This significant award is given annually to an individual or group having demonstrated dedication to historic preservation.