College Park, MD, June 3 — Vernon Wade, Sr., a Fort Washington resident, is the 2013 recipient of the Prince George’s Sierra Club’s Walter “Mike” Maloney Environmental Service Award. Every year since 2005 the Prince George’s Group of the Sierra Club has honored a County resident for excellence in environmental leadership.
Wade is president and CEO of Wade Enterprises, Inc, the parent company of A Breath of Fresh Air Green Energy Retrofits and Information Technology Solutions. He organized, and serves as chair for, the Prince George's County Chamber of Commerce's Green Technology and Energy Task Force. He facilitated the Chamber’s endorsement of the proposed fee to discourage use of single-use plastic bags.
Wade is a force for sustainability and green jobs in Prince George’s County, regularly notifying government leaders of grant opportunities. He helped lead the County fight for the 2012 and 2013 offshore-wind legislation, which incorporated a $10 million fund to help women- and minority-owned businesses benefit from the eventual wind farms. He also has served on the Prince George's County Sustainability Action Group to help develop the County's climate action plan.
The Prince George’s Sierra Club Group established this annual environmental service award in 2005 to honor the late Walter “Mike” Maloney -- a civic activist, County Council member, and attorney distinguished by his dedication to the rights and the quality-of-life of everyday people. On an annual basis, the Group seeks nominees from the County who have shown exemplary leadership in ecological or environmental-protection work. Previous winners include Tom Dernoga (2005), Fred Tutman (2006), Imani Kazana (2007), Carmen Anderson (2008), Sen. Paul Pinsky (2009), Kelly Canavan (2010), Bonnie Bick (2011), and Dan Smith (2012).
The award will be presented on Saturday, June 15, 2013, at the annual Prince George’s Sierra Club picnic, Buddy Attick Park, in Greenbelt. Award ceremony begins at 3:30 pm.
The Sierra Club is the oldest and largest non-profit environmental organization in the nation. Its mission is to explore, enjoy and protect the wild places of the Earth.