The Spirit Awards, now in their 30th year, recognize those who have done outstanding work to preserve, restore and enhance appreciation for Wright’s legacy according to the awards release. Wright, one of the country’s most celebrated architects, designed the Westcott House in 1906 and it was built in 1908 and serves as one of the community’s most unique historic buildings and tourist attractions.
The awards come from nominations and criteria based on “… professionals who have found creative new ways to engage the public during this unprecedented time,” said Barbara Gordon, executive director of the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy in the release.
Wojcik and award recipients in three other categories will be honored at the Conservancy’s annual conference in October in Buffalo, New York.
Wojcik was completely surprised by the award. She was nominated by colleague Scott Perkins of Fallingwater, another Wright sight, and when she received an email with an award notification, she figured it was confirmation of others she’d nominated but got twice the surprise.
“What’s wonderful is my colleagues got an award too,” she said. “This is humbling in that it validates what we do. I will use (this award) as a continued reminder of the opportunity I have to make a difference and help shine a light on the importance of the arts in our lives.”
She nominated Jeff Goodman, Heidi Ruehle and Eric Rogers, who won the Public Category for development and execution of the Wright Virtual Visits program. Wojcik also recognized longtime colleague Tom Fyffe, Westcott House weekend coordinators, board, volunteers and many others along with husband Kevin Rose.
Wojcik is proud that she is in the company of previous Springfield Spirit honorees including a team that helped restore the Westcott House and John Landess and the Turner Foundation for their philanthropic efforts in 2010.
Like many historical places, the pandemic in 2020 forced closures, and being dependent on tourist traffic brought a hit to income. Wojcik and Westcott staff countered by creating a series of virtual programs with other Wright sites that were viewed around the world.
“Last year we brought that to the forefront and we’ve gotten so much feedback,” she said.
Wojcik has also worked on making the Westcott House for Architecture + Design brand more visible locally with various events at the house as well as in the community such as the annual Summer Tour Series.
The Westcott House has had an estimated 72% of its tourism back in recent months from 2019 levels according to Wojcik, calling it a steady flow of people who have visited from as far as New Orleans and Utah.
She was gratified to find the couple from Utah learned about the house during one of its virtual Pecha Kucha events Westcott hosted and made it a point to visit during their summer travels. Another steward of a Wright House in Arkansas sent a letter to the conservancy praising Wojcik’s selection for the virtual lectures informing others of Wright’s work around the world and who also looks forward to traveling here.
Wojcik continues pursuing grants to fund new programs and forming new partnerships. Westcott House will participate in the Greater Springfield Partnership’s Holiday in the City event for the first time later this year, for example. She also hopes this award will make people more aware of the Springfield community and things happening here.
“We want to go beyond the walls of the Westcott House. It feels really good to work on our sight but also the ecosystem of other cultural sights in our community,” she said.
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