Suffolk has a lot going for it in historic preservation and a lot of which to be proud.

Recently, the city, along with individuals involved in historic preservation, virtually made a clean sweep of awards at the Virginia Downtown Development Corporation conference in Roanoke.

Among the honorees was the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts Foundation, which received an award of excellence for organization.

The award was well deserved. It hard to imagine a project of the magnitude of the $10 million renovation of the former Suffolk High School Building into the Center for Cultural Arts coming so far so fast. Many smaller-scale projects in nearby communities have languished for years, while those involved in the SCCA have gone full speed ahead from the get go.

On Tuesday, the News-Herald published a report that BB&T bank had joined the long list of contributors with a $100,000 donation. The work that must have gone into securing such a generous contribution from an entity based in another state is difficult to imagine. Either that or it was simply superb salesmanship. Either way, it’s a monumental achievement.

The Foundation is now just $800,000 shy of its $4.5 million capital campaign goal and we’re sure it will be reached in short order.

All involved in the project, as well as the contributors, deserve a community’s thanks and recognition on a job well done.