By Matt Bielby
In a year when empty boasts and bravado are all too prevalent on the national stage, I want to tell you about two people who have quietly and tirelessly served our country for decades. Rangers Betty Reid Soskin and Mia Monroe embody the best of the National Park Service: they are committed to stewarding our most special places and sharing their stories with visitors of all ages, races, and walks of life. Betty, at the Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, and Mia, at Muir Woods National Monument, are true national treasures.
This summer marks the 100th anniversary of the creation of the National Park Service. Our annual David Brower Dinner will be a celebration of this momentous anniversary. At the event we will honor local rangers Betty Reid Soskin and Mia Monroe for their work on behalf of our nation's natural and cultural resources. I hope you will join us to toast these two amazing women.
WHAT: David Brower Dinner: A Celebration of the National Park Service Centennial
WHEN: Thursday, September 8th, 6-9 pm
WHERE: Delancey Street Town Hall, 600 The Embarcadero, San Francisco
Purchase tickets and sponsorships here.
Betty Reid Soskin, famed as the oldest active National Park Ranger, will receive our Trailblazer Award for a lifetime of service and barrier-breaking. At the age of 94, she interprets the local history of Richmond's World War II home front. But that’s just the latest chapter in her story; She once told TV host Arsenio Hall, “I try to reinvent myself every decade.”1 From her first job in 1941 as a clerk in a segregated union hall, to serving as a field representative for members of the California State Assembly, to becoming a park ranger at 85, Betty views her trajectory as analogous to the country’s. Betty urges park visitors to use WWII history as a template for facing down seemingly insurmountable challenges, like climate change, to ensure future generations will have a livable planet.
Mia Monroe will receive the Edward Bennett Lifetime Achievement Award. The value of nature and public service was instilled in her early; She has said, "My family believed that doing community service was right up there with learning how to build a campfire."2 As part of a college internship with the Sierra Club, Mia was involved in the historic campaign to create the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Fittingly, her first assignment as a park ranger was at Fort Point. She transferred to Muir Woods in 1982, and since then has led generations of visitors into a deeper connection with nature. Mia is an enthusiastic ambassador to the redwoods, butterflies, and banana slugs of the rich and fragile forest ecosystem.
As we look to the next century of conservation, let’s take a moment to celebrate what we’ve achieved over the last 100 years with the help of people like Betty, Mia, and so many others. I hope you will join us on September 8th!
Photo credits: Betty Reid Soskin (left) by Nancy DeVille for Sierra Magazine. Mia Monroe (right) by Jacoba Charles for Bay Nature.