The Ruth Coltrane Cannon Award, North Carolina's most prestigious preservation award, is presented to an individual or organization that has made contributions of statewide significance to historic preservation in North Carolina. Originating in 1948, the award is named for Ruth Coltrane Cannon of Concord, president of the North Carolina Society for the Preservation of Antiquities, 1945-1956, in recognition of her outstanding contributions to preservation. The recipient receives an engraved pewter cup. The winner’s name is also added to master Cannon Cup, which now includes a long list of North Carolina notables. Only one Cannon Award is presented each year.

“The conservation of natural resources is the fundamental problem,” wrote Theodore Roosevelt in 1907, adding that “unless we solve that problem, it will avail us little to solve all others.” North Carolina has no greater conservation and preservation hero than Mike Leonard.

Professionally, Mike Leonard is an attorney in Winston-Salem at Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, PLLC, and his work on behalf of the environment has been entirely without fee. The interest began early. Young Leonard, raised in suburban Charlotte, once built a boat in his backyard and floated it miles downstream to the Catawba River. By age sixteen he was hiking the Appalachian Trail and, while in high school, he won an essay award from the North Carolina Wildlife Federation.

After completion of undergraduate studies in 1975 and graduation from the University of North Carolina School of Law, Order of the Coif, three years later at Chapel Hill, Leonard took a job with a law firm in Birmingham. There he commenced work on land conservation. His dream of connecting Alabama with the Appalachian Trail came true after twenty-two years of work, long after his return to North Carolina in 1986. In time Leonard took on a national leadership position as a board member with The Conservation Fund. His work has benefitted from the fact that the Tar Heel State has one of the nation’s strongest networks of regional land trusts.

Colleagues praise Leonard for his ability to think strategically and his “completely selfless” devotion to his goals. His method is to work behind the scenes to raise the dollars and political support necessary to leverage major land deals to benefit all North Carolinians.

The cumulative impact of Leonard’s work to preserve the state’s natural and built heritage is astounding, resulting in the protection of over 125,000 acres in twenty-two counties. In Asheville he recently facilitated development of the state’s first municipal watershed. He helped raise money to protect lands around the Cowee Mound in Macon County and to permit the state to acquire the William R. Davie House in Halifax. He has worked with Preservation North Carolina to protect Swan Ponds in Burke County, the Hanes House & Farm in Clemmons, Flyway Farms on Knotts Island and the Loesch Woolen Mill in Bethania.

The father of two daughters, Mike Leonard and his wife Michelle live in the 1770 “Cornwallis House” in Bethania, where he heads the historical association and has facilitated local land preservation. The 2015 awards luncheon honored five recipients of Honor Awards from across the state on September 18 in Salisbury: R. Mike Leonard of Bethania, Ruth Coltrane Cannon Award; Loray Mill Redevelopment, LLC of Gastonia, L. Vincent Lowe, Jr. Business Award; Weymouth Center in Southern Pines, Minnette C. Duffy Landscape Preservation Award; The Town of Wake Forest, Stedman Incentive Grant; and Heather Fearnbach of Winston-Salem, Robert E. Stipe Professional Award.

About Preservation North Carolina
Preservation North Carolina, founded in 1939, promotes and protects the buildings and landscapes of our state’s diverse heritage. Through its award-winning Endangered Properties Program, Preservation NC acquires endangered historic properties and then finds purchasers willing and able to rehabilitate them. It has saved more than 700 endangered historic properties, generating an estimated $350 million in private investment. Many of the saved properties have truly been community landmarks. Buyers have put these properties into a multitude of new uses, adding millions of dollars to local tax rolls and creating numerous jobs. More than 4,000 acres of open space have been placed under Preservation NC’s protective covenants, perpetually restricting their development. Preservation NC is supported by a membership of more than 4,000. Join today and help Preservation NC continue its groundbreaking work. Contact us at 919-832-3652 or www.PreservationNC.org.

Release Contact
Lauren Werner | Preservation NC | 919-832-3652 x 238  | lwerner@presnc.org

Read R. Michael Leonard's blog post about making conservation work for America here.