Now in its seventh year, the ACBA Honors Award recognizes a lifetime of service and achievement in the fields of preservation and the building arts.

Previous winners include, Richard Moe, President of the National Trust for Historic Preservation from 1993-2009; Nancy Campbell, national preservation leader and NTHP Chair Emerita; The Hon. Joseph P. Riley Jr., May of Charleston 1977-2018; Bob Vila of the This Old House television series; the late Richard H. Driehaus of Chicago, IL and Rodney Mims Cook Jr., president of the National Monuments Foundation.

All proceeds from this event go to support the academic and scholarship programs of the American College of the Building Arts.

Charles Duell grew up primarily in the New York area, spending time on his uncle’s ranch in Colorado and summers visiting his maternal grandparents, J.J. Pringle and Henningham Smith, in Charleston. As the 8 th generation of Charleston’s historically renown Middleton family, the Smiths maintained residences at both the Edmondston-Alston House, c. 1828, on East Battery and Middleton Place, where they restored the 18 th century rice plantation’s extensive gardens following six decades of neglect, fire, hurricanes and an earthquake following the Civil War.

After graduating from Yale University, Duell began his career in finance on Wall Street before unexpectantly inheriting the 7,000-acre Middleton Place in 1969 when he was 31 years old. He and his young family moved to Charleston, where Middleton Place had been languishing for years. Middleton Place is the birthplace of a Declaration of Independence signer, a First Continental Congress President, and a South Carolina Governor.

It was also home to hundreds of enslaved men, women and children. The interpretation of their lives makes Middleton Place a nexus for reconciliation as Americans pursue a fuller understanding of their past. Thus Duell’s challenge was to figure out how to preserve this important landmark, making it sustainable and accessible for future generations.

By convincing relatives, friends and associates to help him revive the houses, gardens and forestlands of his forebears, Duell established the Middleton Place Foundation, for which he served as President and CEO for nearly 50 years before stepping down in 2018. Their collective efforts over the past half-century have resulted in a dynamic balance of historic preservation and innovative interpretation. foundational sites.”

ACBA has combined a traditional liberal arts college experience with artisan trade education. All of our general education courses are designed to support our mission of creating educated artisans and as such they cover topics such as architectural history, historic preservation, construction management, etc. We have endeavored to create an institution with classes that buttress one another rather than standing at odds with a students chosen major.

Students who are passionate about creating with their hands, their hearts, and their heads. Those comfortable not only using books and computers, but also drafting tables, hammers, chisels, saws, and anvils.

Students can earn either a two or four year degree upon completing our requirements. These are offered as an Associate of Applied Sciences in the Building Arts (A.A.S. degree), or a Bachelor of Applied Sciences in the Building Arts (B.A.S. degree).

Most colleges prepare graduates by providing them with a bachelors degree and having them rely upon that credential. Our graduates are similarly credentialed, but they are further trained to succeed in both journeyman level trade positions as well as "white-collar, blue-collar" jobs. We are referring to positions such as site supervisors, foreman, construction managers, those who work in and around the trades but are able to plan and execute design, understand why certain techniques need to be used, and employ the correct materials to achieve success.

Sponsorship Opportunities	Keystone	Cornerstone	Foundation
Speaking Opportunity at Awards Gala	Yes	--	--
Reserved seating at Awards Gala	6 - most prominent	6 - prominent	4
Podium recognition at Gala	Yes	Yes	Yes
Participation in Wednesday Tours	6	6	2
Speaking Opportunity at Sponsors Luncheon	Yes	--	--
Reserved seating at luncheon	6 - most prominent	6 - prominent	4
Logo on all printed collateral	Most prominent	Prominent	Yes
Investment	$20,000 ($17,800 tax deductible)	$10,000 ($8,500 tax deductible)	$5,000 ($4,450 tax deductible)

Yes, individual tickets are $1,250 ($600 tax deductible) and provide the purchaser with a spot at the luncheon, general reception, gala, and all tours. Interested parties can also purchase a ticket for just the night of the gala for $500 ($350 tax deductible). Please contact Ms. Leigh Handal or Ms. Becky Dornisch for more information!

If you would like to purchase an individual ticket with a credit card payment, please follow this link to our secured checkout page.