Period Design Series (Full Series 6 Topics) NOV 2024 – SEPT 2025

Purchase this 6 Event TICKET for the price of 5 now — Offer expires November 9, 2024.

Series Speaker: Paul Helmer, Architect Designer

Paul Helmer has worked on several significant projects including the Thomas Hart Benton Home and Museum, the Wornall Home, the Buchanan County Courthouse, and several ante-bellum homes.

Upon arrival in Kansas City Paul gained his position as Architect of the City’s Landmarks Commission where
he worked closely with Historic Kansas City Foundation. Here he wrote 16 articles in reference to historic
preservation/ renovation planning in the Foundation’s Gazette. Two of these articles have been kept in the
Library of Congress in Washington, DC. Later he became architect of the Housing and Community
Development Dept., City Planning Dept., the Neighborhood Preservation Dep. and became the founding
Manager of the Building Reuse Program. To his credit several properties have been saved and rehabilitated.

His lead position came about due to his letter written to the then Mayor Emanuel Cleaver, City Council
members and published in the Kansas City Star’s As I See It column of the paper. This precipitated an
interview and Helmer’s hire which brought about a new way to get information into the hands of developers
and interested parties. Sometimes mothballing was done to keep thieves and to stop the deterioration process
of an abandoned property. Most of these buildings are now renovated and contributing back to the
neighborhoods in which they stand, are again on the tax rolls and again are paying utilities and for the
infrastructure in sectors of the city once greatly uninhabited.

To this day his company TOUCH OF DISTINCTION color & design has been involved with over 5,500 projects.
He has won Federal, State and Local awards and has been given a Community Catalyst award from Historic
Kansas City for Revitalizing Neighborhoods of Kansas City.

Beyond the above, it was Mr. Helmer’s privilege to be a charter founder of the Friends of Sacred Structures
FOSS nearly 30 years ago. Today their efforts have helped to save noble houses of worship. Mr. Helmer is
now president of this organization. During his tenure 3 churches each year are toured to acquaint the public
with their interiors and to bring press to FOSS. Beyond these tours Helmer has brought about the addition to
the FOSS mission statement “and the adaptive reuse of closed church properties.”

With his success above, Paul especially thanks 2 people who mentored him; a teacher in grade school and a
teacher in high school both who recognized his abilities. To this day Paul attributes his great success to those
many clients who have used his abilities to give their properties that special TOUCH OF DISTINCTION.

Purchase 6 events for the price of 5 — Offer expires November 9, 2024.

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