The Sierra Club's Lone Star Chapter is happy to announce our 2019 Environmental Award winners! As mentioned previously, honoring these great individuals with an award is one thing... one very deserved thing. But being present to appreciate them is another. On April 13, we celebrated at Chez Zee American Bistro in Austin to amplify the brave responses to climate change within our community. Entertainment included Anthony Mariano, who strummed beautiful, Spanish-style guitar throughout the night, much like this:
But enough about the program, on to the honorees!
Art in Service to the Environment Award
Receiving the Art in Service to the Environment Award this year is Tom Curry. As its name suggests, this awards is given to the individual or group for an outstanding work of art in any medium or discipline in service to the environment. Tom's illustrations can often be seen in the Big Bend Gazette, but his work has also shown up in Time, Newsweek, Mother Jones, Rolling Stone, Esquire, Atlantic Monthly, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Texas Monthly. Here's a sample of his amusing work:
Environmental Reporting Award
There are three very deserving reporters receiving our Environmental Reporting Award this year. As its name also suggests, this award is given to the reporter(s) in any media who have produced a series or single report which has provided exceptional coverage of an environmental issue.
Andrew Stuart is a reporter with Marfa Public Radio and contributes to the show "Nature Notes" - the best 10 minutes on Marfa Public Radio according to the Big Bend Sierra Club. Andrew exemplifies excellent writing and research, produces salient interviews, and wonderfully choreographed segments. The natural world of West Texas - rich, rigorous and thoughtful, pointing at what we have and what we stand to lose.
Julie Thibodeaux and Julie Ryan will also be co-honorees of the Environmental Reporting Award. Julie Thibodeaux is the managing editor for GreenSource DFW, which functions as a clearing house for promoting environmental and social justice activism in North Texas. Under her leadership, GreenSource DFW has evolved to be a hotbed of timely environmental reporting. Their weekly online bulletins are crucial to keep activists from scores of diverse organizations informed of the many activities underway to advance environmental and climate issues. A large fraction of Julie's work consists of coordinating story ideas to educate the public about green topics, such as sustainable living, recycling, waste disposal, nonprofit environmental organizations, eco-friendly green businesses, public policy discussions, and socially responsible investing. Her own incisive and timely articles go a long way towards making up for the ever decreasing environmental reporting by The Dallas Morning News, which has fired its entire environmental team.
Freelance writer Julie Ryan is a frequent contributor to GreenSource DFW, Dallas Observer, Fort Worth Weekly, and Texas Climate News, documenting events and issues that affect our air, water, and energy as well as our green spaces and sustainable life styles. She digs into local and state policy and regulation and publicizes efforts by environmental and grassroots groups that work hard to protect our eco-systems. Julie responds to local concerns in stories such as Methane Sleuths on widespread leaks from natural gas facilities across North Texas, and on environmental issues in the Texas Legislature, including overrule of local tree ordinances and Texas Railroad Commission policies that affect oil and gas safety and health. She has reported on Texas cities' actions to combat climate change in support of the Mayors Climate Agreement, groundbreaking work on air quality and public health by Dr. Robert Haley and the Dallas Medical Society and Texas Medical Association, and fracking near the troubled Lake Lewisville dam. Other articles cover issues with national and global impact, such as environmentally sound food sources, clean water challenges posed by meat production and pesticides, endangered species preservation, and monarch habitat restoration. Her articles about concrete batch plants in 2018 played a key role in keeping more pollution out of the Joppa Community.
Orrin Bonney Award
This award is the Chapter's highest award, given to the person who over a number of years (at least six) has exemplified the spirit and commitment of the Sierra Club by contributing their time and effort in one or several positions of authority for the Chapter. This year we honor Dr. Neil Carman. As our Air Quality specialist, Dr. Carman has served tirelessly for over 30 years at the Chapter. In 2018, he was involved in a variety of legal cases on behalf of the Sierra Club and many frontline communities, including significant victories against such heavy-hitters as Exxon-Mobil, Pasadena Refining, as well as preliminary work against the Valero Refinery in Beaumont. He is a leader nationally on air quality issues, and also has expertise on pesticides and other toxics that impact frontline communities and our environment.
Virginia Murray Brewer Award
This award honors a Sierra Club member who has contributed to a Chapter and/or a Regional Group through the Outings Program. Sierra Club Outings engage members, among like-minded individuals, to bask in the sublime of nature. We would like to recognize Mark Stein for his leadership as the Outings Chair for the Dallas Group over the past five years. Mark Stein has eagerly met the challenges of Outings Chair, along with duties of permit coordinator and other various roles. In the midst of difficulties, he was quick to respond and adapt structures to meet the changing needs of the Dallas Group. Mark Stein organized trips, activities, and classes, such as Backpacking 101, that bring in revenue to support future programs for the Sierra Club Dallas Group. Under Mark’s five-year leadership, the Outings Committee contributed over $44,000 to the Dallas Group’s bottom line. With patience, organization, and a fervor for exploration, Mark Stein exemplifies this award as he continues to nurture cohesiveness and humility in his work.
Hermann Rudenberg Award
The Hermann Rudenberg Award is given to leaders distinguished in protection of coastal resources. Hermann Rudenberg is sincerely commemorated as his legacy lives on through his mentee, Brandt Mannchen. It is evident that Brandt Mannchen remains true to his environmental devotion with over 40 years of service to the Sierra Club Lone Star Chapter. He has contributed expertise on a variety of issues, from air quality, Big Thicket National Preserve, Sam Houston National Forest, regional water planning, Houston area flooding, and numerous other critical environmental issues. “Ike Dike” is just one example of the monstrosities braved by Mannchen, who has led opposition against the proposed coastal barrier. He has crafted alternative solutions for nature-based ways of addressing storm surge and related problems on the Texas coast that are being further impacted by climate change. He offers viable and intelligent solutions in light of criticism, and testifies to the impact of individual action, excelling in activism for coastal resources.
Chapter Service Award
This award is dedicated to members who have contributed significantly to administrative activities of Chapter and/or Group, including fundraising, membership, publications, etc. Hector Gonzalez was gifted the Chapter Service Award for 2019 as an acknowledgement to his work that keeps the Chapter up-and-running, as well as simplifies daily tasks for other Sierra Club members. Hector Gonzalez has been established on the Sierra Club Lone Star Chapter Executive Committee, and has gone beyond the call of duty to lead as treasurer and bookkeeper. We are grateful to know and celebrate trusted, longtime member of Sierra Club, Hector Gonzalez.
Special Service Award
The Special Service Award recognizes persons who have performed special service to the Sierra Club, as well as environmental protection efforts. This award honors the unseen labor, work that is well-deserved but often overlooked, that powers the Sierra Club. Such a special leader is Evelyn Merz. On a larger scale, her work within the legislature has influenced critical policies to progress toward a green future. Evelyn Merz takes a stand for her environmental values- quite literally spending her time testifying on behalf of parks and wildlife matters. She spends countless hours speaking with state legislators and their staff, attending committee hearings and taking other actions to bring about greater awareness and legislative victories for Texas state parks, wildlife protection, water conservation and other environmental priorities. This special service, fueled by her passion for these conservation issues, deserves a big "thank you" from the chapter and the environmental community.
Ken Kramer Living Waters Award
This award, in honor of a past Director of Lone Star Chapter, is merited to a person with significant contributions to preservation and restoration of water quality, which greatly benefit Texans and our environment. Nominated by Ken Kramer himself, Mary Kelly amplifies his legacy of water conservation work in the state of Texas. She has devoted over 30 years to influencing water policy and management. Beginning as a budding attorney in the 1980s, she challenged conservation and protection standards in the legal realm, and moved on to head the Texas Center for Policy Studies, an incubator that would transform the Texas Living Waters Project as it exists today. Recently, Mary has been working to help Environmental Defense Fund renew its groundwater management work in Texas and is now a partner in new law firm working to advance innovation in water policy. No one is more deserving nor more fitting to be recognized with the Living Waters Award by the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club.
Environmental Justice Award
It has become increasingly paramount to recognize the community solutions organized in response to climate change. Sierra Club hopes to do so through the Environmental Justice Award, given to an individual or organization that has done outstanding work toward identifying and addressing environmental problems with disproportionate adverse effects on communities of color and/or low-income communities. This year, two organizations are clearly deserving of the award. Sierra Club will continue to support the efforts of these groups and is privileged to have the opportunity to work in coalitions with such organizations.
Chrishelle Palay, accepting on behalf of HOME Coalition, spoke of the necessity of collaboration within the environmental justice movement. n the past, Palay worked with Texas Housers to ensure fair housing in Houston. HOME Coalition, or Houston Organizing Movement for Equity, emphasizes an interdisciplinary lens that opens dialogue on issues including immigration, housing, labor, and the environment. Sierra Club, Texas Housers, Workers Defense Fund, and other mission-driven organizations have partnered to imagine and build up an equitable Houston with a foundational emphasis on the people. HOME shed light on the alternative narratives of Houston residents affected by Hurricane Harvey with their event, the People's Tribunal, where residents were invited to speak on how their identities face different vulnerabilities in the wake of Harvey. The efforts of this coalition are supported by pooling resources, as well as connecting networks and communities to build an equitable, sustainable, and prepared Texas.
Joppa Freedman's Town Association (JFTA) was formed in 2017 for the purpose of uplifting the Joppa community and educating its children. The heavy, local groundwork by JFTA includes door-to-door canvassing, information sessions, and testimony at the Dallas City Council. A momentous achievement was the movement against Shingle Mountain, an illegal dumping ground for shingles that has polluted the Joppa neighborhoods. JFTA was integral to raising alarm to the City of Dallas, which filed a lawsuit against the company behind Shingle Mountain. The beginning of April marked the first of 90 days in which Shingle Mountain must be remediated.
Additionally, activism within JFTA has led to members holding influential positions on Dallas City Boards, which will more honestly represent minority voices in government. This was a mutually-beneficial collaboration as Sierra Club offered scientific and legal expertise to meet the vigorous organizing efforts of the community. Partnering with the Dallas Sierra Club, Downwinders, Texas Campaign For The Environment, and The Dallas Green Alliance, JFTA has elevated environmental and social justice to new heights in South Dallas. We would like to thank Temeckia Derrough, Miriam Matthews-Fields, and Marsha Jackson of the Joppa Freedman’s Town Association for accepting Sierra Club Lone Star Chapter’s Environmental Justice Award.
Want to learn more about our award winners? Stay tuned to our blog for a few more in-depth pieces!