SierraScape October - November 2003
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Executive Committee (ExCom) members meet once per month to authorize club actions and assist activities of other Eastern Missouri Group (EMG) members.

There are seven voting members on the ExCom. Three persons will be elected, each to fill a two year term. Voting instructions are given on the ballot, page 6.

Following are statements by candidates for the ExCom, listed in alphabetical order.

Judith Holstein

My name is Judy Holstein and I am running for the executive committee. I have been a member of the Sierra Club since 1995. My activities for the Sierra Club have included working on the first two walk-a-thons, Sierra Scape mailing Committee and the Political Action Committee.

Protecting the environment is very important to me and I have actively written to various public officials encouraging them to support environmental issues. At the present time I am actively working on the selection of candidates for the elections next year. I will work to improve the environment in our state and around the country and to find and help elect politicians who are friendly to our mission.

I support other environmental groups such as the National Parks Conservation Association, World Wildlife Fund, Environmental Defense Group and Defenders of Wildlife.

Thank you for your consideration.

Wayne Miller

As an outings leader and member of the outings committee, I have had many great experiences and have to mention the fight against the new reservoir on Church Mountain. That win was exhilarating -- just briefly, I got to pretend I was in the same league with the heroes we honored this year who defended the Meramec River in the 1970s. My research of John Muir and presentation at an outings committee event was also very satisfying for me.

Within the EMG, opportunities for such experiences are available for all members of varied interests. It is also desirable that members participate in a variety of activities. This is the direction I am trying to go personally and the direction that will continue to keep our club strong.

Tim Pekarek

I am Tim Pekarek, candidate for the EMG executive committee. I have been a member of the Sierra Club for around twenty years. In recent years I have been active in the Ozark Chapter, and the Eastern Missouri Group as a member of the ExComs of both bodies. This work has been very valuable to me mainly by letting me have the chance to meet Sierrans from around the state who are all doing really vital work to save the environment. I have also been active in St. Louis Inner City Outings for eleven years. I.C.O. is a part of a national service project of the Sierra Club, with the purpose of introducing children and youth from inner city communities to wilderness experience. I thank you for considering me as a candidate for the EMG ExCom.

Henry Robertson

I help out the Group in ways that are visible, like schlepping lemonade and mailing newsletters; and not so visible, like writing citizen comment letters on DNR air pollution permits, petitioning EPA for tougher state air regulations, and working for the Club on the Missouri Clean Energy Coalition.

I think I have a basic grasp of all environmental issues and better than average knowledge of some (energy, clean air, genetic engineering, sprawl, transportation and population). I'm also willing to sweat the administrative details (well, within reason). Right now my big kick is renewable energy and energy efficiency. After coming through another summer, the last thing St. Louis needs is global warming.

If this sounds wonkish, well, that's my niche in the ecology of environmentalism. I also like to bicycle and go on the occasional outing. I've been an active Club member for 11 years and would be happy to serve on the ExCom.

Ken Schechtman

I am a lifelong activist, committed to the notion that change does not happen unless ordinary people join together and demand it. Environmentalists have been doing so for decades, and anyone who considers the clean air bill or our many reborn streams and lakes must marvel at the successes, even as we battle for all that is yet to be won and for all that is currently being stolen.

I have been Vice Chair of our Executive Committee for the last two years and am a Washington University Professor who brings to the Club a dedication to environmental ideals, a scientist's measured analysis of issues and, most important, an abiding commitment to an effective results-oriented Club that lets no one forget that we did not stand by and watch. As a hiker with a reverence for nature, I have an obligation to Missouri's forests and to our wild and special places. As an advocate, I have authored dozens of published op-ed articles. As a citizen, I have been ExCom liaison to our political committee so that the right people can be in the right office. And as a parent, I can do nothing less than fight for the world I will one day leave behind. I hope you will again offer that opportunity.

Your Executive Committee plays an important role in keeping the Eastern Missouri Group Sierra Club Chapter vital. Mark your ballots and send them in. Make your voice heard!