Rick Dover is Passionate about Historic Preservation
Rick Dover
Rick Dover, General Manager of Family Pride Corporation, believes that building green is the responsible way to conduct business. Rick Dover has been directing the family firm, located in Knoxville, Tennessee, since 1993. Rick Dover oversees construction projects with the opinion that it is Family Pride Corporation’s responsibility to leave behind the smallest ecological footprint possible while growing their company. To that end, Rick Dover took his love of historic buildings and his desire to provide a unique brand of living facilities for senior adults and went about the task of rehabilitating and restoring old buildings. Rick Dover viewed the venture as an exciting challenge, but it turned out to be life-changing experience for Rick Dover, Family Pride Corporation, and the residents of the facilities they built.
Rick Dover has been involved with saving and preserving historic structures in Tennessee, Florida and North Carolina for over twenty years. Rick Dover and Family Pride Corporation rescue and restore historical structures to be utilized for senior adult housing, residential and commercial purposes. Rick Dover has served as a board member for the Knox Heritage, Sequoyah Hills Preservation and the Americas Foundation. Rick Dover has won numerous awards for his work in historical preservation.
Rick Dover understands the numerous benefits of historic preservation. Historic buildings are endorsed as sustainable or green design because they reduce the use of non-renewable resources and minimize the impact on the environmental. Rick Dover learned that there are also economic benefits to preserving historic buildings. Rick Dover discovered that historic preservation is a very strong economic engine. Because preservation involves working with existing materials, projects are labor intensive and generate more jobs than new construction. Rick Dover points out that added jobs help the local economy by increasing household income, thus adding to the tax base and tourism dollars. It also increases property value and promotes community stability.
Rick Dover believes that if you look beyond the outward appearance of the dilapidated structures, you’ll find a large part of a community’s history. History is what gives a community its personality. Rick Dover believes that safeguarding the history of a place through historic preservation gives a community its unique character. Rick Dover thinks it provides a link to the origins of the community and its ancestors. Historic preservation is more than protecting and preserving old structures of historic importance; there are cultural, economic, environmental, and educational benefits of historic preservation—all of which are interlinked. Historic preservation connects individuals with their past and with each another.
Rick Dover has learned from experience that historic preservation can help curb some of the damaging environmental effects such as excessive energy consumption and suburban sprawl. Rick Dover believes that preserving culturally-significant buildings for future generations to enjoy is vital. Rick Dover and Family Pride Corporation endeavor to protect the architectural harmony and physical characteristics of a neighborhood while supporting its improvement.
Rick Dover knows that when people realize the significance of preserving a building with historical value, instead of demolishing it and rebuilding they develop a sense of community pride. Rick Dover has observed that a group of people with pride in their neighborhood tend to work together to make other improvements to their community. Everyone profits when historic structures are rehabilitated rather than torn down and pitched into the local landfill.
For more information about Family Pride Corporation and Rick Dover, visit familypridecorp.com.