Woo-hoo! On June 4th 2010, the Tulsa World featured this press release about us:
New awards will celebrate Earth-friendly practices
By ROBERT EVATT World Staff Writer
Published: 6/4/2010 2:20 AM
Last Modified: 6/4/2010 5:19 AMThose who incorporate sustainable, Earth-friendly practices in their work and lives now have the chance to be celebrated for their efforts.
Sustainable Tulsa and Tulsa Southside Rotary have teamed up to create the Henry Bellmon Sustainability Awards, an event designed to raise awareness of what sustainable practices can be, said Corey Williams, director of Sustainable Tulsa.
“We want to raise the level of understanding of what sustainability is statewide,” she said.
The awards are named after the late former Gov. Henry Bellmon, chosen as the namesake for his lifelong commitment to sustainability in Oklahoma, Williams said.
The organizations are seeking nominations for the awards to be presented Sept. 16 during a gala at the Mayo Hotel.
Three of the awards will focus on each element of what Williams calls “people, profit and planet.” That is, actions that benefit the community, actions that are both Earth-friendly and business-friendly, and actions that are good demonstrations of environmental stewardship.
One of the three winners will also receive the Henry Bellmon award for demonstrating a balanced approach in all three areas.
Judges for the awards include David Lawson, chairman of the University of Tulsa board of trustees; Dean VanTrease, president emeritus of Tulsa Community College; Brett Fidler, sustainability director for the city of Tulsa; and Ann McFerron, youngest daughter of Bellmon.
Williams said the gala itself will benefit the community, as Sustainable Tulsa’s share of the proceeds will fund an initiative at McClain High School for a self-contained solar energy system to heat a 400-square-foot greenhouse, among other projects. Tulsa Southside Rotary will use its funds for the club’s ongoing projects, including Biscuit Acres Dog Park and the Dictionary Project, which gives every third-grader in Tulsa Public Schools a dictionary.
The gala will also feature a talk by Ron Jones, the Seattle-based president and co-founder of Green Builder Media and one of the fathers of the green building movement.
To submit nominations, contact Williams at 808-6576 or corey@sustainabletulsa.org.
Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/article.aspx?subjectid=46&articleid=20100604_46_E6_Toewoi125269
Tags: Henry Bellmon Sustainability Awards, oklahoma green events, Tulsa World
