Happy New Year -- and welcome to the Year of Muir!

It’s been 100 years since John Muir walked this earth and we are planning a year-long celebration of his life and his contributions to environmental protection. The Sierra Club itself is one of many reminders of the legacy of Muir and our activism and successes are a tribute to his continued relevance.

Before I share with you our plans for 2015, here is a quick reminder of some of our accomplishments this past year.
•    We celebrated the designation of the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument – yes, our volunteers helped make this happen and I got to thank President Obama in person!
•    We welcomed George Watland as our Senior Chapter Director and Angélica González as our Conservation Program Manager.
•    Our outings leaders led over 4000 hikes and trips throughout Los Angeles and Orange Counties as well as other parts of California and beyond.
•    We endorsed 71 candidates for federal, state, and local offices and worked to get them elected in November; 41 of our endorsed candidates were elected.
•    We continued our conservation efforts to protect open space, improve air and water quality, stop fracking, and address climate change right here in LA and Orange Counties.
•    We established a new, vigorous fundraising committee.
•    We received more donations than ever from our Executive Committee members, who led the way in recognizing the importance of having a financially healthy Angeles Chapter to make a difference every day right here in Los Angeles and Orange Counties.

And now as we begin 2015, our Year of Muir, we are looking forward to all kinds of new adventures and challenges.

We’ll start the year off with a Sustainability Forum on January 10 at the LA Convention Center and an all-day Executive Committee kickoff meeting on January 11 at Eaton Canyon. Both are open to all our members, but you need to let us know if you are coming.

On March 1, we’re having a fundraiser house party with author Paul Loeb, who wrote “The Impossible Will Take a Little While.” This will help inspire and remind us that big change does not happen overnight.

Our annual awards banquet will take place on May 3, with our keynote speaker, Bruce Hamilton, Deputy Executive Director of the Sierra Club and an expert on the life of John Muir.

We are working on other events that aren’t quite ready to announce yet – they will be announced on our webpage throughout the year.

How can you celebrate the life of John Muir and support the Angeles Chapter? Here are some suggestions:

•    Come to one of our events celebrating John Muir.
•    Go on a Sierra Club-led hike or trip.
•    Bookmark the Chapter website and check it at least once a week: /angeles/ .
•    Like us on Facebook.
•    Make sure we have your email address so we can communicate with you by email instead of using paper.
•    Volunteer with the Angeles Chapter – check out the postings on the Volunteer Connection at http://clubvolunteer.org.   
•    Vote for Sierra Club-endorsed candidates.
•    Join our partnership with Sungevity and put solar panels on your home.
•    Give a gift membership to the Sierra Club to a friend or family member.
•    Make a donation to the Angeles Chapter so we can continue our work here in Los Angeles and Orange counties.
•    Make the Angeles Chapter a beneficiary in your will or trust.

Most importantly, get outdoors and get involved.

John Muir enjoyed this great earth, but he did not stop there. He took action to make sure land was set aside for future generations to enjoy.

As we face threats to our climate and the life we love here on earth, we cannot sit idly by and hope someone else takes the action we need to make. It is up to us to carry on the legacy of John Muir and ensure that 100 years from now people continue to explore, enjoy, and protect the planet and all the beauty it contains.