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2015 MountainTrue Award Recipients Announced

Asheville, NC — On Thursday October 8, MountainTrue announced the winners of the MountainTrue Awards, which are presented each year at the organization’s Annual Member and Supporter Gathering. For 2015, the event was held at Hi-Wire Brewing’s Big Top location.

Award honorees are recognized for their hard work and dedication to protecting our forests, mountains, rivers and streams, and to promoting clean energy and sustainability. The 2015 MountainTrue Award winners are:

The Esther Cunningham Award | Honoree: Richard Burt of Hendersonville
MountainTrue presents this award in the name of Esther Cunningham, a Macon County resident whose concern for the environment prompted her to found the Western North Carolina Alliance (now part of MountainTrue). The award is presented to a MountainTrue member who has demonstrated outstanding community service in conserving our natural resources.

Richard Burt is an active volunteer in MountainTrue’s Recycling, Water and Energy committees and has been the tireless chair of MountainTrue’s Recycling Committee based in the Southern Regional office for the past three years. A lifelong animal and nature lover, Rick was active at the River Bend Nature Center in Racine and sat on the Board of Directors of the Association for the Reservation of the Eno River Valley in Durham before retiring and moving to Hendersonville in November of 2008.

Green Business Award | Honoree: Green Sage Café of Asheville
MountainTrue presents the Green Business Award to a local Western North Carolina business that has exhibited leadership in implementing green practices, getting other businesses to make their operations more sustainable or engaging in environmental advocacy.

Green Sage Café, with three locations throughout Asheville, has been a model business for our region. Owners Roger Derrough and Randy Tally are committed members and supporters of MountainTrue. The restaurant has led the green charge in Asheville, installing solar panels, using local and organic ingredients whenever possible and utilizing green practices throughout. For the past year, Green Sage has hosted Green Drinks, a series of discussions where the community can hear from and ask questions of environmental advocates and organizations every Wednesday. For more information on Green Drinks, visit: http://www.ashevillegreendrinks.com/

Volunteer of the Year Award | Bob Dennis of Asheville, and Joe and Phyllis Zinch of Asheville
MountainTrue presents the Volunteer of the Year Award to an individual(s) who has demonstrated consistent commitment by volunteering time at events, on program work, or through other MountainTrue activities. This year, we gave out two awards to some very deserving recipients.

Bob Dennis has been a crucial member of MountainTrue’s bacteria monitoring program for the past three years, and has been our lead-volunteer on the program for the past two years. Bob is consistent, proactive and flexible. He has put in hundreds of volunteer hours measuring E. coli to help ensure that our streams and rivers remain safe and clean for fishing and swimming, and as a source of drinking water. Results from our bacteria monitoring program can be found at http://www.swimguide.org, where recreationists can download a app that gives them the latest information on where it’s safe to play in the water.

Joe and Phyllis Zinch are MountainTrue super volunteers, putting in countless hours and volunteering for nearly all our events. They come early and stay late with a can-do attitude; they promote MountainTrue and help spread the word about the work we do and the impact of our programs. Joe and Phyllis moved to Asheville 13 years ago from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and have committed themselves to volunteering for organizations that are aligned with their own personal values – respect for the environment, animal welfare, sustainability and the arts. We think that Joe and Phyllis found the right place to retire; MountainTrue and Western North Carolina are better off because of their efforts.

Partner of the Year Award | The Sierra Club
MountainTrue presents the Partner of the Year Award to an organization that has been a staunch partner with MountainTrue on key campaigns and programs throughout the past year.

The Sierra Club has been a committed partner with MountainTrue on many levels, most importantly on the Asheville Beyond Coal Campaign, which has sought to cut Asheville’s addiction to coal and fossil fuels, and to move the city and the region toward greater use of energy efficiency and renewable sources of energy. Sierra Club has also been an incredible resource on various legislative issues and public lands projects and has been an invaluable partner on our Green Drinks program of talks and on the Everybody’s Environment initiative, which seeks to bring more diversity to the environmental movement. Accepting this year’s Partner of the Year Award on behalf of the Sierra Club were NC Organizer Emma Greenbaum and Associate Press Secretary Melissa Williams.

WNC Elected Official of the Year | David Gantt, Buncombe County Commission Chairman
MountainTrue presents this award to a city, county, state or federal elected official for either a specific conservation action of singular importance or for a strong and consistent commitment to conservation over time.

Chairman David Gantt has served Buncombe County for nearly 20 years and has spearheaded some of the most important environmental efforts in our region. David will retire at the end of 2016 with a long list of accomplishments: enactment of a model steep slope ordinance that protects the county’s mountaintops and includes a zoning overlay to preserve the Blue Ridge Parkway, a Dark Skies lighting ordinance, cell tower ordinance and measures to address water runoff and erosion control; partnership with other groups to preserve and permanently protect over 6,000 acres of Buncombe County farmland, ridge tops and special places; creation of a landfill that may become the first perpetual facility in the nation; construction of a new $25 million, LEED-certified County Courthouse after decades of need; establishment of countywide zoning and planning ordinances that maintain the practice of sustainable growth; and the creation of greenways, pools, libraries and community centers in each part of the county.