By Sheila Calderon
Our first in-person meeting since COVID was a huge success! It was a lovely celebration and public acknowledgement of the many volunteers who make our Loxahatchee Group so special. It was a wonderful evening of delicious food (thanks to Chef Glenn Laufer), mingling with like-minded folks, and the chance to congratulate some superb environmentalists. A special thanks and huge round of applause is due for our chairperson, Linda Smithe, who pulled this all together. She took over the chair position this past year and has gone above and beyond to keep our group moving forward.
The award presentations involved Linda giving out certificates (and her hand-crafted mugs) to our group chairs and volunteers who have taken on tasks to keep our group informed and to share our accomplishments and upcoming programs on our website and social media.
Our Loxahatchee group is very proud to be home to several Sierra Club National awards honorees over the past few years. Three of those were celebrated at the party.
The first was Drew Martin, who won a National Special Service Award in 2020. Drew has been an outstanding Conservation Chair, managing to attend meetings statewide and represent us with our local and state officials.
The National Atlas Award was presented to Alyssa Cadwalader by Sheila Calderon. The award honors volunteers who have made extraordinary administrative contributions to groups, chapters, and regional entities. Alyssa’s competence, calm nature, and willingness to take on new tasks have been extremely valuable to our group and the whole Florida Chapter since 2008.
The National Volunteer Service Award was presented to Michael Fitzpatrick by Ron Haines. This award Honors Sierra Club volunteers for strong and consistent commitment to the environment or the Club over an extended period of time. Michael was honored for his nearly 50 years as an environmental activist, concentrating on saving urban pockets of ecological importance in Palm Beach County, Florida.
Our 2021 Environmental Champions are Ted and Trudy Winsberg, who we are very proud to honor for their act of civic conservation. When the Winsbergs decided to retire from pepper farming, they had to decide what to do with their 176 acres in Boynton Beach. Unlike most other farmers in South Florida, the Winsbergs did not sell to a developer to put homes or condos on their site. Instead, they accepted a third of the land’s appraised value from Palm Beach County, which created the Green Cay Wetlands and Nature Center on the site. The presentation to the Winsbergs was made by Drew Martin.
For more photos from the evening, please visit our Meetup and Facebook pages.