Today, the Lone Star Chapter Awards Committee announced its slate of this year’s environmental champions.
Each year, we take some time to look back at the previous year and recognize the great work of inspiring environmentalists from around our state with awards to show our appreciation. Our award categories inspire nominations to honor not only Sierra Club volunteers and staff, but also other individuals and organizations who have done so much to defend, improve, and celebrate the Texas environment.
Please join us at a special awards banquet this Saturday, April 28, 6-9pm, at Chez Zee American Bistro.
WIthout further ado, this year’s awards go to…
Anne Pearson, San Antonio
Anne has been awarded the Virginia Murray Brewer Award, which is given to a Sierra Club member or members who have contributed to the Chapter and/or a Regional Group via the Outings Program. The award commemorates Virginia Murray Brewer, who along with her husband, Byron, was an active member and founder of the Central Texas Regional Group of the Sierra Club. Virginia was active in leading and promoting group outings that drew many members into the Central Texas Regional Group.
Anne has run the Alamo Sierra Club’s Youth Outing Program for several years. She has exposed hundreds of local youth to the outdoors, often for the first time. She has been tireless in keeping the program going and reaching out to youth around the whole city. Her work has greatly enhanced our contacts with youth in San Antonio.
Click here for past recipients.
Richard Alles, San Antonio
Richard has been awarded the Chapter Conservation Award, which is given to a Sierra Club member or members who have worked diligently during the past year on a particular issue or who have revitalized the conservation efforts of the Chapter or Group.
Richard has led local efforts in San Antonio for many years on countless issues. He has formulated and passed effective local ordinance protections for tree canopy and especially large heritage trees facing threats of destruction from housing and commercial development. He has protected this local legislation from near constant local and state level attack by developers who claim it increases costs and by politicians seeking to wrest local control from city governments. Richard has written opinion pieces to the newspaper, called officials, and testified in support of San Antonio’s ordinance many times, locally and in Austin. His efforts have been vital to our (so far) successful efforts to largely preserve San Antonio’s local tree protections.
Click here for past recipients.
Dr. Mike Slattery, Fort Worth and Ranjana Bhandari, Arlington
Dr. Mike Slattery and Ranjana Bhandari have both won the Special Service Award which is given to the person or persons, members or non-members, who either on one or more occasions have performed a special service to the Sierra Club or to environmental protection.
Dr. Mike Slattery is the Director of the Institute for Environmental Studies at Texas Christian University. His research includes the human impact to coastal plain rivers and sediment pathways, mercury contamination from coal-fired power plants, biodiversity and conservation in Costa Rica, and the environmental, socio-economic, and carbon impacts of building large-scale wind farms in the U.S. He launched the TCU Rhino Initiative, which helps save the rhino and ensure its long-term survival in South Africa. Dr. Slattery is a special friend to the Greater Fort Worth group. He has presented at four general meetings over several years. Dr. Slattery is a true champion of the environment and works to protect water and air quality, to educate students and the public about the biodiversity of our planet, and to protect and conserve species and habitats in the U.S. and abroad.
Ranjana Bhandari is the leader of Liveable Arlington and the driving force behind the Save Lake Arlington campaign. This campaign was about a proposed injection well on the west side of the lake. Ranjana and Liveable Arlington fight against wells and other gas infrastructure in Arlington and neighboring communities. Many of these fights are in poor and minority communities where the impacts on the local neighborhoods are often discounted as unimportant, with rubber stamp approvals being the norm. Ranjana does not win every fight, but she and Liveable Arlington always put on a good fight and win more often than can be expected.
Click here for past recipients.
Oscar Garza, Buda
Oscar Garza has won the Environmental Justice Award, which is given to an individual or organization that has done outstanding work on identifying and addressing environmental problems that have a disproportionately adverse effect on communities of color and/or low-income communities. This award is conferred only when merited.
Oscar Garza has served the East Austin Environmental Initiative, a project of the City of Austin Watershed Protection Department, for 23 years. During the course of those years, Oscar has written and edited numerous editions of the East Austin Environmental Initiative Newsletter and helped communities to clean up waste dump sites including for two examples -- the recent Red Bluff clean up and before that Homewood Heights, a multi-year, major clean up and mitigation of an incinerator waste dump next to an east Austin neighborhood off of Rosewood. Homewood Heights has been transformed into a beautiful treed hillside with a community garden that was part of the mitigation project. While maintaining his role on the Pollution and Spills Response team for the City, Oscar has successfully navigated the waters of City environmental politics and forged vital communications and awareness of East Austin success stories through the East Austin Environmental Initiative Newsletter.
Click here for past recipients.
Jennifer Walker, Austin
Jennifer Walker has won the Ken Kramer Living Waters Award, which was created to honor Ken Kramer's thirty years of service as the Director of the Lone Star Chapter and his special dedication to the issues of water quality and water conservation over the course of his career. The award is only given when merited to the member or person who has contributed significantly to the preservation or restoration of water quality or to implementing strategies for water conservation beneficial to people and the environment in Texas.
Jennifer Walker worked for the Sierra Club for 18 years. During her tenure, she and others helped create the Water Conservation Scorecard, helped ensure water resource planning efforts across the state more actively addressed environmental concerns, created water conservation symposiums in Central Texas and the Gulf region, and helped author several important water conservation white papers that have been widely used.
Click here for past recipients.
Jackelin Treviño, McAllen
Jackelin Treviño has won the Chapter Service Award, which is given to a Sierra Club member or members who have contributed significantly to the administrative activities of the Chapter, and/or Group, including fundraising, membership, publications, etc.
Jackelin serves on the Lower Rio Grande Valley Executive Committee. She was also an Apprentice for the Sierra Club in North Carolina, a member of the Sierra Student Coalition, and trainer at SPROG. Jackie has led trainings and workshops for new Sierra Club volunteers in the Rio Grande Valley, acted as a media spokesperson on the border wall campaign, and donated many volunteer hours for large border wall events.
Click here for past recipients.
Brendan Gibbons, San Antonio
Brendan Gibbons has won the Environmental Reporting Award, which is given to reporters in any media who have produced a series or single report which has provided exceptional coverage of an environmental issue.
Brendan provided excellent reporting of local environmental issues for the San Antonio Express-News. He continues his work now for the Rivard Report. His articles about water issues have been especially insightful and comprehensive, especially regarding the controversial Vista Ridge water pipeline project.
Click here for past recipients.
Please join us in Austin this Saturday to honor these amazing people!