The Preservation Society is 2014 Bicycle Friendly Business of the Year

The Preservation Society’s consistent and friendly support of bicycling in Newport earned the organization the designation of “2014 Bicycle Friendly Business of the Year” by the local cycling advocacy organization, Bike Newport.

Meeting the standards set forth by Bike Newport, the Preservation Society is a model of bike friendliness - providing bike racks at every mansion property; encouraging employees to bicycle for fun, fitness and transportation; supporting community bicycle education by providing space and resources; helping to fund and distribute the Newport Bicycle Map; and partnering with Bike Newport to improve and encourage bicycling. “For these reasons and more, the staff, board, and volunteers of Bike Newport have selected the Preservation Society of Newport County as the Bicycle Friendly Business of the Year,” Bari Freeman, Executive Director of Bike Newport, announced at this year's Bike to Work Day.

Preservation Society Executive Director, Trudy Coxe, shared her pride in receiving the award: “We are so pleased to accept the award – and what a beautiful and fitting award it is! We enthusiastically support Bike Newport, actively encourage our employees to bicycle, and happily participate in the collaborative planning for bike friendly city initiatives. This award is wonderful recognition of both our efforts and our commitment to promoting bike friendliness.”

The unique award - a gilded Penny Farthing – was crafted specifically for this purpose by Newport sculptor and cycling enthusiast, Howard Newman, and his wife/collaborator, Mary Newman. The Penny Farthing bicycle is a symbol of the late Victorian era, the period that saw the heyday of most of the Preservation Society’s Gilded Age Mansions. 

Bike Newport is a bicycle advocacy organization that works to improve and encourage cycling in and around Newport, RI. The City of Newport received recognition by the national League of American Cyclists in 2013 as a Bicycle Friendly Community at the bronze level – the first community in Rhode Island to receive such a distinction. Last week, Bike Newport was recognized for Outstanding Leadership in Smart Growth by Grow Smart RI at the Power of Place Summit in Providence. For more information, www.bikenewportri.org.