PRESERVE COUNCIL BLUFFS is organized by a set of By-laws, and lists the current standing Board Officers: President, Dr. Richard Warner; Vice-President, John Edwards; Secretary, Michelle Mutchler-Burns; and Treasurer, (Vacant).  In addition to the Executive Committee (Board), there are additional standing committees: Property: Care and keeping of the Bregant Residence and the Lewis Home - Michelle (Chair), Kurt Arends, and Jennifer Benson; Events: Local events which PCB sponsors or participates in - Ken Freudenburg, Jennifer, Megan Welch, and Tami Jenson; Bylaws: Maintaining and editing when necessary; Finance: related to PCB’s books; and Education/Outreach: Presentations and other programs related to local historic preservation topics put on by PCB members; plus publishing a quarterly newsletter, History Matters - Dr. Warner, Troy Stolp, and Trudy Beno. Mark Chavez is editor of History Matters.

RICHARD WARNER serves as president of Preserve Council Bluffs, an officer of the Historical Society of Pottawattomie County (HSPC) and vice-president of the Pottawattomie County Genealogical Society.  He has edited the Historical Society’s member publication for over thirty-five years and co-authored four books about local history. He also hosts the podcast “Accidentally Historic,” produces the local history YouTube channel "Council Bluffs Revealed," and is a frequent speaker on topics of local history.  He was a recipient of an Iowa Governor’s Volunteer award in 2017.  Dr. Warner is a graduate of Abraham Lincoln High School in Council Bluffs, Creighton University (BS, DDS) and UNO (MA).

MICHELLE MUTCHLER-BURNS has served as the Secretary for Preserve Council Bluffs since 2011.  She has a penchant for nonprofit work and serves on the Board of the Historical Society of Pottawattamie County, the Fairmount Park Neighborhood Association as Vice President, past President, and co-founded the organization in 2007.

She is a Master Gardener and had also served with the Greater Omaha Cage Bird Society (GOCBS); her 28-year tenure with the organization ended with the closure of the nonprofit in December of 2023. She is most passionate with fundraising and served as the organization’s Fundraising Advocate.  

With the closure of the nonprofit, excess funds were reallocated. The GOCBS Board was proud to donate more than $48,000 to small nonprofits in the Omaha metro.

JENNIFER BENSON is a non-recent transplant to Council Bluffs, moving here in 1973 when her parents got out of the Air Force since both were born and raised in the area.

She graduated from Lewis Central in 1986 and from Kearney State College (now the University of Nebraska –Kearney) with a BA in Education and a BS in Journalism in 1991. She completed her MS in Learning Disabilities/Special Education from UNO in 1997.

Over the years Jennifer taught in the St. Albert School system and the Council Bluffs School District.

She has two adult children and a set of twin boys for grandchildren.

MARK CHAVEZ, native of San Luis - the Oldest Town in Colorado, attended the University of Nebraska, Lincoln where he majored in architecture, finishing with a bachelor’s degree in 1977.  Mark obtained his architectural license (Nebraska) in 1985, after working for 8 years as an apprentice architect.  That year, the opportunity to work in historic preservation and the National Park Service (NPS) presented itself, and Mark began a new career as a Historical Architect.  For seven years he focused on historic buildings in the NPS's Midwest Region (13 states, and 50 units in the upper Midwest, including several on the Great Lakes). Most of the duties included research, some design and drawings; many projects related to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP); and lots of time managing both construction, and architect/engineer design contracts. 

While with the Park Service, Mark spent nine years (1991 to 2000) in San Antonio, TX working at the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park.

Mark returned to Omaha and the NPS's Midwest Regional Office, to completed his career, then with the NPS's History and National Register Programs.

A native of Rockford, Illinois, Michelle spent her adult years in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Omaha and finally found her niche in Council Bluffs in 2004.  She is the mother to four adult children, and “Gram” to three boys.  She and her husband enjoy working on their Victorian home and caring for avian family members. They have two Bolivian Blue and Gold Macaws, both 30 years-old, affectionately known as “Double Trouble.”

Professionally, Michelle’s credentials are RN, BSN, CCM.   She has been a Registered Nurse for more than three decades and she is also a Certified Case Manager.

Michelle’s additional interests include our very own Bregant Residence, and maintaining the Preserve Council Bluffs Facebook page, in addition to the Woodward Candy Memorabilia Collectors Facebook page.

Her words to live by…”the word ‘no’ is small and it doesn’t hurt.” 

JOHN EDWARDS is a Broker and Owner of Key Real Estate.

Born, raised, & settled in Council Bluffs, John was brought up by two realtors and has continued their business by starting his career in Real Estate over 31 years ago.

Among his other professional achievements listed below, he is a Certified Residential Specialist, which less than 5% of agents attain.

He has been married for 32 years to Marsha, who works teaching her 'Little Learners'. They have 7 children together- Ben, Mallory, & Abbey work with John continuing the tradition of business with family, Zach will be joined by Claire at The University of Iowa while Grace and Evan get to enjoy their hobbies at home.

As well as Real Estate John lends his time to include motorcycle riding, playing basketball, coaching soccer & basketball, and cheering on the Hawkeyes!

Rather than units of the Park System, Mark's work included NRHP and National Historic Landmark (NHL) properties in the Midwest Region - a few in NPS parks, but mostly those in private or public hands.  Mark co-authored one NRHP nomination (the Ethel Wilson Harris House in San Antonio), and one NHL nomination (the former Omaha Union Station, now The Durham Museum) - the latter co-authored with an NPS colleague.  Both nominations were successful - the buildings are now listed.  Mark retired in July 2019 with 35 years of Federal employment under his belt.

Aside from historic preservation, Mark’s interests & hobbies include: antiquing, Art Deco, railroading (Mark is a member of HSPC, and volunteers at the RailsWest Museum), model railroading, and gardening. He is a huge Frank Lloyd Wright fan, and for modern architecture, Santiago Calatrava.

For activity, Mark enjoys swimming. The Lakin YMCA rocks!

His Omaha “family” includes two long-hair orange tabby cats, Odie and Katrina, siblings approaching 19 years of age. Mark is 2nd of a family of 8. Except for an older brother & family, everyone resides in Colorado.

TROY STOLP is a practicing historian and father of three children. Troy was born in Omaha, and grew up in Council Bluffs. He graduated from Lewis Central High School in 1990 and afterward obtained a BA in Anthropology and Religious Studies from Iowa State University, a BA in History from Buena Vista University, and an MA in History from UNO.

He has worked in human services in various capacities since 1994 and has been at Lewis Central Schools since 2013 (where he is also the chess coach).

Troy has been on the Board of Directors for Preserve Council Bluffs, a judge for National History Day and is happy to have served on the Council Bluffs Historic Preservation Commission.

Troy also works at the Durham History Museum in Omaha composing text for interpretive displays and leading tour groups.

KAT SLAUGHTER has been the Museum Director at the Historical Society of Pottawattomie County (HSPC) for 8 years. 

She studied at the University of Wyoming, graduating in 2016 with a Bachelor's degree of History and Anthropology with an emphasis in museum studies. 

Kat's main duties for the HSPC are caring for both the Squirrel Cage Jail (a National Historic Landmark) and RailsWest Museum - soon to expand its scope to include not only railroad history but also local history. 

During the last 8 years Kat and the HSPC board have been hard at work preserving both museums, cataloging artifacts, research, adding new displays, and bringing the attention of the museums to more people, including an international audience.

She joined the Preserve Council Bluffs board in 2023 and looks forward to continuing to work on preservation in Council Bluffs.

KEN FREUDENBURG is a 1978 graduate of the University of Nebraska with a degree in Agriculture Economics. He began work out of college with the Federal Land Bank in Grand Island, NE.  After a short time in Ag lending, he went to work for Nebraska Harvestore in Norfolk, NE and worked there until the Ag economy forced a career change. He switched to American Family Insurance processing casualty and auto claims for over 30 years. While with American Family, Ken managed a team of adjusters for over 8 years.

Not wanting to move out of Omaha when American Family Insurance closed all of their state offices and went to 6 regional offices, he became a Loss Control Rep for Catholic Mutual and has been there for 9 years.  

Interests include history, historical architecture, gardening, preservation, antiquing, cooking, traveling, horses and numerous other interests. 

Ken served on the Dodge House Board for several years and is currently a Parks and Rec commissioner for the City of Council Bluffs. He is a board member of the Lincoln/Fairview Neighborhood Association where, as president for 4 years, he helped to secure over $40,000 in grants for the neighborhood association. 

Ken has been on the board of Preserve Council Bluffs for several years now.     

He currently lives in a Queen Anne / Richardsonian Romanesque home built in 1891. This historic home in Council Bluffs is a contributing structure in the Lincoln / Fairview National Register Historic District. Ken enjoys helping to preserve it for generations to come.