Helen Crettier Wilkes Receives 2022 Kea Medal Award

Local Architect Helen Crettier Wilkes Honored with 2022 Kea Medal

Kea Medal Is Chapter’s Highest Honor—Recognizes Leadership, Advocacy and Service to the Design Profession

Helen Crettier Wilkes, AIA, will receive the Paul H. Kea Medal for Service to the Profession at AIA Potomac Valley’s 2022 Design + Leadership Awards. The Awards will be held in person at the Universities at Shady Grove on October 20, beginning at 6:00 PM.

Helen is being honored for her decades of leadership in AIAPV, including her foundational roles in the Custom Residential Architecture Network (CRAN) and Small Practice Group (SPG). Helen is also a vital Board member of the Potomac Valley Architecture Foundation, where she advocates for architecture students and for the profession of architecture. Join us at the 2022 Design + Leadership Awards to thank Helen for her work and dedication to AIAPV.

The Paul H. Kea Medal is AIA Potomac Valley’s highest honor and recognizes architects or non-architects in related fields who have made a significant and exemplary contribution to the profession, either through a body of work or a single contribution of great scope. Recipients may be cited for Service to the Profession; Leadership; or Architectural Advocacy that has furthered the public’s awareness or appreciation of design excellence.

Helen joins these previous honorees:

2020 – Laurence A. Frank, AIA – Medal for Leadership, Service to the Profession, and Architectural Advocacy

2018 – Brian Kelly, AIA – Medal for Leadership and Service to the Profession

2017 – Gwen Wright – Medal for Architectural Advocacy

2016 – David Cronrath, AIA – Medal for Leadership and Service to the Profession

2015 – Clare Lise Kelly – Architectural Advocacy

2014 – Melanie Hennigan, AIA – Leadership, Service to the Profession; Raymond Skinner, Leadership, Architectural Advocacy

2013 – Carlo Colella, LEED AP – Architectural Advocacy; Carl Elefante, FAIA – Leadership, Service to the Profession

2012 – Samuel J. Parker, Jr., AICP – Leadership; John A. Carter, AIA – Architectural Advocacy

2010 – Dr. Royce Hanson – Leadership, Architectural Advocacy

2009 – Rollin B. Stanley – Architectural Advocacy; John M. Maudlin-Jeronimo, FAIA – Leadership, Service to the Profession

2007 – John Torti, FAIA – Leadership; William Bechhoefer – Service to the Profession; Eliot Pfanstiehl – Architectural Advocacy

2006 – Marshall Purnell, FAIA – Leadership; John P. Salmen, AIA – Service to the Profession; Douglas M. Duncan – Architectural Advocacy

2004 – Karl F. G. Du Puy – Architectural Advocacy; Steven W. Hurtt, AIA – Leadership; Steven J. Karr, AIA – Service to the Profession

2003 – Daniel W. Bennett, Jr, AIA – Service to the Profession; Richard G. Hawes – Architectural Advocacy; Stephen L. Parker, AIA – Leadership, Service to the Profession, Architectural Advocacy

2002 – Ralph D. Bennett, AIA – Leadership; John F. Corkill, Jr., AIA – Service to the Profession; Roger K. Lewis, FAIA – Architectural Advocacy

The award is named in honor of Paul H. Kea, FAIA, (1886-1968) who began practicing architecture in 1912, moved to Hyattsville, Maryland, and founded the firm Kea, Shaw, Grimm & Crichton, a precursor to today’s Grimm + Parker Architects. His firm built numerous banks, churches, schools and commercial buildings. A founding member of AIA Potomac Valley, Kea served as President of the Maryland Society of Architects and became a Fellow of the AIA (FAIA) in 1960. He served as President of the Prince George’s Chamber of Commerce and served on numerous church committees and community boards. He took a strong interest in architectural education and funded a Distinguished Professorship at the University of Maryland.

AIA Potomac Valley provides leadership, communication, education, and advocacy in support of architects and their constituencies in the Potomac Valley region. We empower members to advance their roles in service to society; act as a collective voice to help cultivate the future of the architectural profession; foster innovation and sustainability in design; and are a knowledge resource to members and the public, raising awareness of the value of the architecture profession. The chapter serves roughly 670 members in Allegany, Charles, Frederick, Garrett, Montgomery, Prince George’s and Washington counties in Maryland. 

Founded in 1857, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) consistently works to create more valuable, healthy, secure, and sustainable buildings, neighborhoods, and communities. Through more than 200 international, state and local chapters, AIA advocates for public policies that promote economic vitality and public wellbeing.