Upstate Forever Honors Conservation Champions

GREENVILLE, SC – Upstate Forever’s ForeverGreen Awards Luncheon today honored eight conservation champions for significant achievements in the fields of land conservation, clean water, clean air, sustainable development, recycling, public service and volunteer work.

The honorees are:

• Tommy Wyche Land Conservation Champion Award: Ben Geer Keys
• Sustainable Communities Champion Award: Rocky River Conservancy and Anderson University
• Clean Water Champion Award: Dr. Jack Turner
• Clear Skies Champion Award: Dan Powell
• Three Rs Champion Award (Reuse, Reduction, Recycling): Joseph McMillin
• Public Servant of the Year Award: Cathy Reas Foster
• Volunteer of the Year Award: Cary Hall

“We are pleased to recognize and honor these great champions,” said Brad Wyche, Upstate Forever’s Executive Director.  “All of them have done exceptional work in making the Upstate a greener, cleaner and more sustainable region.”

James Gustave “Gus” Speth, founder of the World Resources Institute and co-founder of the Natural Resources Defense Council, was the keynote speaker at the event.   A South Carolina native, Speth recently published Angels by the River: A Memoir, which reflects on past events in his life and the way those events resonate into the present. At Tuesday’s luncheon, Speth spoke about his experience with conservation over the last four decades and the potential impacts of climate change on the Upstate.

“America now finds itself in a sea of troubles,” said Speth.  “If we are to chart a course to a better place, we should understand how that happened. I think the stories I tell can provide insight into that exploration.”

The lead sponsors of the event were The Greenville Journal, Embassy Suites Hotel, PlanFirst and Serrus Capital Partners.

About Upstate Forever

Upstate Forever is a non-profit, membership-based organization promoting sensible growth and protecting special places in the Upstate region of South Carolina. To learn more, visit www.upstateforever.org.