Happy New Year!
I am thrilled to join the Cornerstones team as Executive Director. For those of you who are Jake Barrow fans (and I’m one of them too!) he is staying with us. Jake will now be able to devote his time to two things that are central to our mission and that are his true passion – working with communities to preserve their heritage, particularly adobe, and mentoring.
As the newest member of the team, I will be studying up on the important work that Cornerstones has done since its founding. I invite you to join me on this learning journey or for some of you who have been involved with Cornerstones for many years, a walk down memory lane. Each month I will highlight one of our previous projects. If you follow us on social media, I welcome your responses there. Many of you have traveled to these sites or were volunteers on the projects. We would love to hear your memories and see your pictures if you have them.
I’m launching this series with San Rafael Church, La Cueva, New Mexico. You can read all about it in a blog post on our website from 2017.
The blog post mentions that San Rafael was again in need of maintenance. As a result of the assessment then, we launched a campaign to re-plaster the exterior and to repair windows and doors. This work was completed in 2019. This is a great example that Cornerstones projects have a continuing life. In the early years the church was saved and restored. More recently, as with all historic buildings preservation, maintenance is required. Don Sena, representing the Diocese, will be inspecting the Mora churches soon to determine needs for the 2021 season. Rebecca Montoya continues to be our Mora community liaison for all work there.
It is an honor to join with members of New Mexico’s communities to work on these important historic structures.
Thank you for joining with us!
Tracey Enright
Executive Director
Cornerstones Community Partnerships
January 15, 2021