WNC Sierra Club presents 2017 Environmental Recognition Awards on Dec. 6

Press release from WNC Sierra Club:

The WNC Sierra Club will present its annual Environmental Recognition Awards on Wednesday, Dec. 6 at its Potluck Holiday Party. The awards are made in recognition of local individuals, institutions and businesses whose actions reflect their commitment to preserving the environment.

The party gets underway at 6:30 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Asheville, 1 Edwin Place. Please bring a dish to share, as well as your own dishes and silverware. This event is free and open to the public.

This year’s nine awards are:

Green Legislator of the Year: Senator Terry Van Duyn
As the Democratic Party Whip for the state of North Carolina, Van Duyn provided strong leadership in the face of the strongly anti-democratic majority, championing protection for the environment.

Volunteers of the Year: Jane Laping and Ann Perry
Laping and Perry served as the “dynamic duo” for the WNC Sierra Club’s presence at the 2017 Climate Change March in Washington. They marketed and managed ticket sales, coordinated transportation logistics and covered all communications, including trip updates, poster-/sign-making and post trip debriefing.

Volunteer of the Year: Mark Threlkeld
For five years, Threlkeld has been the force behind the club’s river cleanup. In conjunction with Greenworks, he has recruited and led hundreds of volunteers to clean the French Broad and Swannanoa Rivers. He also served on the WNC Sierra Club’s executive committee for four years.

Green School of the Year: French Broad River Academy
This school prepares students for a lifetime of service and environmental stewardship. It has logged 2,278 hours of community service, working with organization such as Greenworks and Riverlink for river cleaning, trail maintenance and other environmental work. It lives by “Leave No Trace” for all of its weekly outdoor activities, including camping, canoeing and hiking.

Citizen Activists of the Year: Helen Hyatt, Mike Wasmer, Betsy Sterling and John Sterling
This intrepid foursome educated the Asheville City Council and staff, as well the local neighborhood about the problems associated with an old-style air-cooled steel and cable sub-station that had only a minimal public safety buffer. Instead, they advocated for a new gas-coiled technology that would greatly improve local conditions and aesthetics.

Their advocacy resulted in Duke Energy changing its plan and location. Instead of the old station at the corner of Hilliard and Ashland, a new ”GIS” sub-station is being installed in a brick building at a former Volvo dealership, on a 5-acre tract near the River Arts District, offering better technology and much more of a buffer for public safety.

Kids to the Country Sierra Club Volunteers of the Year: Beth Pape, Nikita Smatrt, Sade Mustakem and Marta Alcala-Williams
This team organized six outings to introduce kids to the wild, instilling a permanent love of nature in the next generation. From June 23 to Sept. 30, city kids visited the Blue Ridge Visitor Center, the Carl Sandburg National Park and Goat Farm, the Asheville North Carolina Arboretum, a blueberry picking farm, the Warren Wilson Animal Farm and Garden and Craggy Pinnacle on the Blue Ridge Parkway. They partnered with the Housing Authority, Asheville City Schools, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Asheville, Hillcrest Community and MotherRead.

Thanks to all of the other volunteers who made this program a success: Judy Mattox, Eleanor Lane, Joanne Lazar, JD Diefenbach, Maryanne Rackoff, Mayo Taylor, Susie Bell, Ellen Feingold, Marsha Fretwell and Scott Varn.

Green Business of the Year: New Belgium Brewing Co.
This brewery achieves a 99.9% annual waste diversion rate. All of its facilities feature LED lighting, radiant floor heating and a solar hot water system. It also revitalized an 18-acre urban brownfield.

Volunteer of the Year: Diane Bauknight
Managing the club’s Facebook page, Bauknight tripled readership within a year. She freshens the page every day with new environmental posts.

Volunteer of the Year: Sam Harben
Harben generously donated his time as the WNC Sierra Club’s representative on the Beyond Coal Committee and the Asheville Regional Transit Coalition. He also served two years on the WNC Sierra Club’s Executive Committee.

For more information, contact Judy Mattox, judymattox@sbcglobal.net, 828-683-2176.