By Ron Haines
Two Loxahatchee Group volunteers are among environmental activists from around the world who will be honored by the National Sierra Club with awards this year.
The presentations will be held online on September 17 at 7:00 P.M. Mark your calendar!!! Links for attending the ceremony will be announced on our Facebook Page and the Loxahatchee Forum (send an email to ronaldhaines@bellsouth.net if you want to subscribe to the Forum).
Alyssa Cadwalader, a former chair of our group, will receive an Atlas Award, which honors volunteers who have made extraordinary administrative contributions to groups, chapters and regional entities. Her competence, calm nature, and willingness to take on new tasks have been extremely valuable to her group and the whole Florida Chapter since 2008. She started as a volunteer in the Inspiring Connections Outdoors program. In addition to leading numerous outings with children, she made valuable and lasting contributions to the planning, organization, and content of the annual fundraising event. She progressed to group treasurer, group webmaster, and group executive committee member, bringing her diligence, organizational skills, and good humor to every task. On the chapter level she served on the executive committee and was chapter chair in 2019-20. She instigated first-time ever strategic planning in both her group and in the chapter and has led the chapter in Equity, Inclusion and Justice discussions. She is presently chair of the chapter’s Group Empowerment Team, contributor to the chapter on strategic planning issues, and still leads ICO outings.
Veteran environmentalist Michael Fitzpatrick, also a former chair of our group, will receive a Volunteer Service Award, given to volunteers for strong and consistent commitment to the environment or the Club over an extended period of time. Michael is being honored for his nearly 50 years as an environmental activist, concentrating on saving urban pockets of ecological importance in Palm Beach County Florida. His first action as a Sierra Club member came before there was even a Loxahatchee Group. It was in 1973 when he and other volunteers started a three-year project to move oak trees from the path of a new interstate highway to the grounds of Florida Atlantic University. Many of those transplanted trees are still providing shade for students today. His campaigns through the years have resulted in preservation of seven pieces of land around the county, saving not only habitats for gopher tortoises and valuable plants and other animals, but also places for adults to stroll and relax and children to play. He has also served as a city commissioner and on several advisory boards through the years. He is a former group chair and activities committee chair and remains today a member of the Forests and Public Lands Committee.