Recently, the Sedona Historic Preservation Commission has announced the availability of not one but two volunteer positions, both of which they would like to fill immediately.

The Sedona Historic Preservation Commission usually has seven member positions that hold a seat but as of this week, there are only five, thus the two positions available.

Brynn Unger, a Sedona resident whose involvement in the Sedona Historic Preservation Commission has lasted six years, was named its chairperson in December of last year.

Unger began our conversation together sharing the purpose of the commission.

“We work hard to preserve the historic buildings in Sedona. We also landmark buildings and bring them to national landmarking status after so many years,” Unger said.

The Sedona Historic Preservation Commission has over 20 local landmark designated buildings here in the area and a few are considered national landmarks as well.

Within the two volunteer positions, the right person will help monitor these buildings in Sedona to make sure they are not destroyed or altered beyond recognition.

A volunteer also helps identify new buildings and brings them to light so they can be considered under the category of a landmark.

“There’s always something we haven’t found. We find new places all the time,” Unger said.

Unger went on to say that a volunteer must be willing to make each meeting on the second Tuesday of every month at 4 p.m. Every commissioner attends the meetings and helps find and review information on landmarks.

There are good and bad parts of being involved in any commission Unger said, but the Sedona Historic Preservation Commission is less involved in politics than most other commissions.

“It’s an enjoyable commission. We are a proactive group, we get to see things landmarked, see things accomplished, and usually much faster than others,” Unger said.

Unger went on to say the only bad thing about the commission is most people don’t really understand what the Sedona Historic Preservation Commission is trying to do, so it is their job to education the public — but it can be fun.

For the two volunteer positions, the commission is looking for someone who has a background in architecture preferably, but it is not a requirement.

Also, an interest in history would be helpful as well to the one willing to volunteer his or her time in an effort to help save a few historical landmarks.

“It will probably take some time for anyone to get up to speed in what we do here. There’s a learning curve but we would be excited to have the right people join us in our mission,” Unger said.

Brian Bergner Jr. can be reached at 282-7795, ext. 131, or e-mail bbergner@larsonnewspapers.com