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Up to $42,500 in grants are available for Route 66 businesses and attractions through the Preservation and Economic Development Grant Program this year. The Route 66 Road Ahead Partnership is celebrating the 100th Anniversary of Route 66 with its Preservation & Economic Development Grant Program [PED]—an Official Route 66 Centennial Project. The PED program will provide $42,500 to support Route 66 businesses and attractions this year. Up to 20 grant awards of $2,125.00 each will be made by a Route 66 PED Grant Program Review Committee, which acts independently of the Route 66 Road Ahead Partnership. The program's goals include helping Route 66 businesses and attractions stay in operation or reopen. Bill Thomas, Chairman of the Route 66 Road Ahead Partnership, said, "The Preservation & Economic Development Grant Program also supports preserving, restoring, or expanding - as well as starting new - Route 66 businesses and attractions." Businesses and attractions located on Route 66 that employ fewer than 20 full-time employees or are a small, locally owned franchise with five or fewer locations may apply. Eligible activities include capital improvements, historic preservation planning or work, and accessibility or community outreach. Applications for the Route 66 Preservation and Economic Development Grant Program are available now and will be accepted through September 29, 2025. Apply here.  The Route 66 Road Ahead Partnership, in collaboration with the National Park Service, Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program (NPS), is providing an update and preview of national-level Route 66 Centennial activities and events that have been approved by the U.S. Route 66 Centennial Commission. legislated intent of the Commission, and its work to date:
THE ROUTE 66 CENTENNIAL WEBSITE Launching in early 2025, the Route 66 Centennial website is designed to:
The Route 66 Road Ahead Partnership Board of Directors held its third quarter meeting on August 9, 2024. Reports were presented by the Partnership’s Working Groups and updates on the Road Ahead’s Extraordinary Women Micro-Grant and Black Experiences Grant Programs were provided. Information regarding the most recent Federal Route 66 Centennial Commission programs, activities, projects, and events approved was also shared.
The Federal Route 66 Centennial Commission approved the Route 66 Centennial Public-Facing Communications plan that was submitted in February. One of the key elements of this plan is the Centennial website, which is currently under development with a goal for launch on January 1, 2025. The Road Ahead submitted three new projects to the Route 66 Centennial Commission during the third quarter. The Commission voted to recommend the Google Arts and Culture Route 66 Hub, the Route 66 Pathways Project, and the I Am Route 66 Project as Official Route 66 Centennial Projects. It appears that progress is being made on the Route 66 Historic Trail Bill, as it moves in the direction of being included in an end-of-year Land Package legislation in the House of Representatives. The Road Ahead will work with congressional staffers to introduce a bill in the Senate that compliments the House bill. Efforts to raise funds for the proposed Route 66 National Research Center began following onsite meetings with officials from UNM, the Lobo Development Group, and the UNM Foundation in August. The Preservation Working Group’s Quick Reference Preservation Guide is available online (www.route66theroadahead.org/resources). The Road Ahead can help users make the most of this tool. For more information, email [email protected]. The Board also voted to engage Samantha Extance to facilitate a blended (i.e. online and in person) strategic planning process for the Partnership. More details are available via minutes of the August 9, 2024 Board Meeting, found in the Resource section of the Road Ahead website. Further details and more updates can be found in the online (www.route66roadahead.org/resources). Established in 2016, with the support of the National Park Service and the World Monuments’ Fund, The Route 66 Road Ahead Partnership’s mission is to revitalize and sustain Route 66 as a national and international icon through partnerships focused on promotion, preservation, research and education, and economic development. Historic Route 66 turns 100 years old in 2026, and the party has already started! The Route 66 Road Ahead Partnership is helping celebrate the Mother Road’s birthday with the Route 66 Black Experiences Grant Program. The grant program is one of a series of “birthday gifts” to be given to Route 66 in the years leading up to the road’s Centennial. The Road Ahead was awarded $250,000 by American Express to provide direct grants to help Black-owned and/or operated businesses and attractions along Route 66. The funds will also support research and programs that interpret and tell the stories of Black experiences associated with Route 66. The Route 66 Black Experiences Grant Program is part of the Road Ahead’s 100th Anniversary of Route 66 celebration. Through the Centennial, the Road Ahead aims to help the millions of people who live, work, and travel along Route 66 with projects focused on preservation, promotion, research/education, and the economic development of Route 66. The first two rounds of the Road Ahead’s Black Experiences Grant Program were held in 2022 and 2023. In addition to this round of 2024 grants, the program will also be administered in 2025 and 2026. A total of $50,000 (10 awards of up to $,5000 each) is being awarded each year through the Route 66 Black Experiences Grant Program. Established in 2016, with the support of the National Park Service and the World Monuments' Fund, The Route 66 Road Ahead Partnership’s mission is to revitalize and sustain Route 66 as a national and international icon through partnerships focused on promotion, preservation, research and education, and economic development. Applications for The Black Experiences Grant Program are being accepted through Sunday, July 14, 2024, and are available at: RoadAhead.Route66Centennial.org.  The Program is one in a series of “birthday gifts” to be given to Route 66 in the years leading up to the historic road’s one-hundredth birthday in 2026. The Route 66 Extraordinary Women Micro-Grant Program provides critical and flexible funding to businesses and attractions located along Route 66 that are majority women-owned or operated. The Route 66 Extraordinary Women Micro-Grant Program is funded in part by a grant from the Preserve Route 66 Grant Fund of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. In addition to direct fundraising efforts undertaken by the Road Ahead, the public may make direct donations to the Extraordinary Women Micro-Grant Program online (https://100extraordinarywomen.com/route-66-extraordinary-women-initiative/). Established in 2016, with the support of the National Park Service and the World Monuments' Fund, The Route 66 Road Ahead Partnership’s mission is to revitalize and sustain Route 66 as a national and international icon through partnerships focused on promotion, preservation, research and education, and economic development. The next round of The Route 66 Extraordinary Women Micro-Grant Program will begin July 5, 2024. Program guidelines, criteria, and applications will be available at: https://roadahead.route66centennial.org/. Up to 10 grant awards of $2,000 each will be made in the next round of the program. The Route 66 Road Ahead Partnership is pleased to announce ten grant awards from its Extraordinary Women Micro-Grants Program. The 2024 round of the Micro-Grant program was completed last month, with $2,000 awards made to:
The next round of The Route 66 Extraordinary Women Micro-Grant Program will begin July 5, 2024. Program guidelines, criteria, and applications will be available at: https://roadahead.route66centennial.org/. Up to 10 grant awards of $2,000 each will be made in the next round of the program.  Left: Flora May Cordova – Route 66 Welcome Center & Gift Shop, Tucumcari, NM. Center: Heather Arnold – Routes Rentals & Tours, Albuquerque, NM. Right: Noelle Sosaya – Rat House Vintage, Albuquerque, NM.  While in Albuquerque for their annual face-to-face meetings this summer, The Route 66 Road Ahead Partnership was thrilled to be treated to a personal tour of Glorieta Station by owners Ed and Carlos Garcia. Also in attendance were members of the National Park Service, National Trust for Historic Preservation, and University of New Mexico Research Center. Attendees were treated to libations as the Garcias and New Mexico state hostess for the event, President Melissa Beasley-Lee, welcomed them. Everyone was in awe as their tour guides led them through several areas of the main complex, while sharing historic information and personal stories behind everything from neon and other classic signs, gas pumps, cars, tractors, and a collection of Fred Harvey era furniture and fixtures. The fun didn't stop there ... Next, everyone climbed aboard a personal trolley as Carlos, playing chauffer, gave a tour of other surrounding buildings they own and what their plans are for them as they relate to the entire complex. The trolley brought them to the newest building housing more neon signs. Road Ahead Chair, Bill Thomas, commented "This place is absolutely amazing! I can't believe how much the Garcias have invested in their state and local history. In seeing all of this and talking with them, you can tell they take great pride in being the custodians of New Mexico and other states' history".  Brothers Carlos (left) and Ed (right) Garcia with the group.  The Route 66 Road Ahead Board of Directors held its annual, face-to-face meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on March 30, 2023. The following day, members of the Road Ahead Board who were able, attended part of the annual meeting of the Research Route 66 group. Their new report, available on their website, http://www.route66roadahead.org (by clicking on the "News" or "Resources" tabs), covers January 2023 through March 2023 and includes the following highlights. The Road Ahead continues to focus on five outcomes: increased collaboration, effective promotion, purposeful preservation, increased economic vitality, and quality research and education. The outcomes are supported by a variety of goals designed to advance Route 66 as an American historic and economic treasure. The Route 66 State Associations Advocacy Working Group collaborates with each other and the Road Ahead Board of Directors to share common interests, opportunities, and support. They are currently working with AAA to create an experience that best supports each state. Plans are underway to help promote the AAA Road Fest during the International Mother Road Festival to be held in Springfield, Illinois in September of 2023. The Research/Education Working Group supports professional and amateur educators and researchers in their efforts to inspire and renew public understanding of Route 66. The largest part of their first quarter efforts focused on setting up a summer training session for teachers using a National Endowment for the Humanities grant to train 72 teachers in developing a Route 66 curriculum for middle and high school students. Professor Gretchen McAllister of Northern Arizona University is directing this effort. Dr. David Dunaway, the chair of the Research & Education Working Group is its principal consultant. Additionally, the long-awaited bibliography of Route 66 will be published this year. Researching Route 66, a 150-page collection of what has been written about Route 66 over the years, was reviewed this quarter and there are plans for publicity and outreach to introduce the bibliography to a national audience. Under the direction of Pam Bowman with the National Trust, the National Historic Trail Designation Task Force plans to help ensure introduction of new legislation in the 118th Congress to designate Route 66 a National Historic Trail. The Road Ahead is assisting by recruiting Congressmen/women to be original co-sponsors of the legislation. The Road Ahead has done extensive preparatory work for the upcoming Route 66 Centennial, but action remains on hold, pending the outcomes of the National Commission's initial meetings. Established in 2015 with the support of the National Park Service and the World Monuments' Fund, The Route 66 Road Ahead Partnership's mission is to revitalize and sustain Route 66 as a national and international icon through partnerships focused on promotion, preservation, research and education, and economic development. Bill Thomas, Chairman, Rt. 66 Road Ahead Partnership [email protected], 217-648-5077. Update from Melissa Lea Beasley-Lee, Board of Director for the Route 66 Road Ahead Partnership & President of the New Mexico Route 66 Association, as it relates to Route 66 State Centennial Commission in New Mexico: Note: As posted in previously: In addition to this National Centennial Commission, each of the eight Route 66 States are to form its own "State" Centennial Commission composed of members who reflect the interests, history, and importance of the communities along Route 66 in their state. Then It's off to getting things ready statewide to celebrate 100 years of Route 66! During this years legislative session, The New Mexico Route 66 Association introduced a bill to set up the New Mexico State Centennial Commission with Senator Pete Campos. Unfortunately, after several attempts over a two-month period, our attempts to communicate and get the bill passed were ignored. The NM Rt66 Association is currently regrouping, along with the Rt66 Road Ahead Partnership, to try and find a solution to the situation. We are disappointed that this simple organizational bill could not get passed. As of this printing, Senator Campos has not replied to any communications with the association.  Left: Route 66 Road Ahead Partnership Board of Directors with National Park Service, NationalTrust for Historic Preservation, and UNM Route 66 Research Center. Right: Route 66 Road Ahead Partnership Research Route 66 group with National Park Service and UNM Route 66 Research Center.
On May 23, 2017, the Albuquerque Journal ran an Associated Press article by Russell Contreras titled, "Losing Their Kicks? Funds For Route 66 Towns May Be At Risk." Similar stories ran in papers and on TV news across the country detailing the sunset of legislation which authorized the National Park Service to administer the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program, which was created by congressional legislation in 1999. The National Park Service (NPS) administered matching fund preservation grants that made possible the restoration of properties and neon signs in each state traversed by Route 66. In New Mexico, some of those projects included the Blue Swallow Motel sign in Tucumcari, El Comedor's "Rotosphere" in Moriarty and the sign and building front of the Lexington Hotel in Gallup. NPS also facilitated Route 66 oral history projects in partnership with UNM's English Department as well as providing access to historical and informational research materials for scholars and tourists. Many people were justifiably alarmed at the news of the sunset of preservation legislation, but beginning in 2014, in anticipation of the de-funding of their programs, NPS along with Route 66 stakeholders and the World Monuments Fund facilitated the creation of 'The Road Ahead Partnership" whose mission it is "to revitalize and sustain Route 66 as a national and international icon, for the benefit of all Route 66 communities, travelers, and businesses/attractions, through collaborative partnerships focused on promotion, preservation, research/education, and economic development." Pending legislation monitored and supported by The Road Ahead Partnership includes HR801, a bill introduced into Congress by Rep. Darin LaHood (R-IL] that would designate Route 66 as a National Historic Trail. Bill Thomas, chairman of The Road Ahead Partnership, said, "With the impending sunset of the NPS Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program in 2019, it is important that Route 66 gain this designation." Other Legislation includes HR66, introduced by Rep. Rodney Davis [R-IL], which would establish a Route 66 100th Anniversary Celebration Commission. Says Thomas, "The Mother Road's 100th birthday will be in 2026 and we want to be prepared for a grand celebration." For further information, the partnership has launched a new website: www.route66roadahead.org.  Route 66 Road Ahead Partnership Board of Directors meeting, February 16-18, 2017 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
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