ANGELES CHAPTER AWARDS FOR 2024
Each year the Angeles Chapter requests the names of those individuals and groups within the Sierra Club who deserve recognition for exemplary service to the Chapter. Each Group, Section, Committee and Task Force is asked to recommend recipients for the listed Chapter awards based on the following criteria. Submissions are due 1/31/2024.
1. Sierra Club Ambassador (formally known as EXTRAORDINARY ACHIEVEMENT CERTIFICATE): To be given to an individual within the Angeles Chapter who embodies the Sierra Club’s 3 volunteer pillars of conservation, outings, and political work
2. Lifetime Achievement Award (formally known as LIFELONG SERVICE PLAQUE): To be given to an individual within Angeles Chapter for a lifetime of achievement for their contributions to further Sierra Club’s mission:
- To explore, enjoy, and protect the wild places of the earth;
- To practice and promote the responsible use of the earth's ecosystems and resources;
- To educate and enlist humanity to protect and restore the quality of the natural and human environment; and to use all lawful means to carry out these objectives.
3. Environmental Justice Award: To be given to an individual or group within Angeles Chapter that has done outstanding work toward identifying and addressing environmental problems that have a disproportionately adverse effect on communities of color and/or low-income communities
4. Young Leader Award: To be given to an activist, organizer, or volunteer of Angeles Chapter who is 30 years of age or younger
5. Lori & Robin Ives Journalism Award: To be given to an individual who participates in and contributes to communications (newsletters, magazines, etc.) within the Angeles Chapter
6. Weldon Heald Environmental Protection Award: To be given to an individual or group within Angeles Chapter that has led projects or programs that effectively manage, conserve, preserve, repair, or prevent deterioration of natural resources or ecosystems in a long-term sustainable manner. Legislative work can be considered
7. Innovation in Activism Award: To be given to an individual or group within Angeles Chapter who brought a unique idea to life or challenged the status quo to bring new ways of thinking and operating in support of the environment or sustainability
8. Political Service Award (formally known as POLITICAL SERVICE PLAQUE): To be given to a pro-environment political leader who has worked and voted consistently to protect the environment in California
9. Phil Bernays Public Involvement and Education: Projects or programs that engages or educates the public in ways that are meaningful, informative, effective, creative, and innovative (includes outings)
10. Chester Versteeg Outings Service & Leadership Award: To be given to an individual or group that has shown exceptional leadership or has contributed behind the scenes to ensure outings are conducted well, or has shown steadfast service in outings
11. Major Contribution or Innovation in Outings Award: To be given to an individual or group that has developed a unique or interesting way of executing outings, or made outings more inclusive
12. Emil Lawton Political Activism Award: To be given to an individual or group within Angeles Chapter that has done exceptional work for, made major contributions to, and/or has been a true leader in contributing to the chapter's political program.
13. Irene Charnock Office Service Award: To be awarded to a Sierra Club member who has provided long-term and outstanding service to the Angeles Chapter by serving as a Chapter office volunteer.
14. Elna Bakker Nature Interpretation Award: To be awarded to an individual or group for outstanding achievement in the interpretation of nature, using the written word, photography, graphic art or field demonstration. Candidates for this award must display unusual creativity and depth in the communication of knowledge and appreciation of the natural world. This award is not intended as a reward for merely conducting many nature walks. Because of the high qualifications needed for an award candidate, it would be expected that this honor would not be given every year.
15. Linda Hoyer Chapter Staff Award: To be awarded to an individual for extraordinary contributions, far beyond the normal call of duty, to the Sierra Club and the Angeles Chapter from an employee of the Angeles Chapter.
16. Donna Specht Fundraising Award: To be awarded to an individual or group that has provided outstanding, sustained support of the fundraising efforts of the Angeles Chapter.
17. Angeles Chapter Memoriam: Not an award – this section is to pay tribute to the volunteers and activists who are no longer with us. We want to recognize any member, regardless of time when they were active. Each submission will be honored during the actual event. This category has a different submission form. Please use this one.
Additional certificates for conservation service, outings service, and special service are given to Sierra Club members who deserve special recognition for noteworthy service they have rendered to the Angeles Chapter. These can range from regional group contributions to assisting behind-the-scenes of a fundraising event to newsletter editing.