CEC Announces Synergy Award Winners

The CEC Board of Trustees is pleased to announce the following winners of 2000 Synergy Awards. You are invited to help us recognize these award winners at a special event in their honor on Wednesday evening, November 8th, at Main Street Theater (Chelsea Market location). Be sure to practice your belly laugh before you come – local comedy troupe Radio Music Theater will be performing custom comedy sketches that promise to stretch your stomach muscles. Seating is limited; call 713-524-4232 if you have not already received an invitation.

Army and Sarah Emmott Conservation Award - Sharron Stewart
Sharron Stewart headed the Texas Environmental Coalition in the 1980s and has served on the Board of the Galveston Bay Foundation since its founding. Currently, Sharron is working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Texas Parks and Wildlife to protect a large forested area along the coast known as the Columbia Bottomlands or Austin’s Woods. These bottomland hardwood forests are extremely important habitat for migrating neo-tropical songbirds.

Community Activist Award - George Smith, D.D.S., and Neil J. Carman, Ph.D., Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club
Through the Sierra Club and the Galveston-Houston Association for Smog Prevention, George Smith and Neil Carman have both given many years to the air quality struggle statewide. George, the Sierra Club’s volunteer Air Quality Chair, sits on a variety of city, state, and national planning and technical committees working steadily to clean the air. Neil, the Sierra Club’s Clean Air Programs Director, works closely with citizens, educating them to air quality issues and rallying them to put pressure on decision makers.

Corporate Environmental Awareness Award – BP Amoco
BP Amoco made a bold move in the oil industry by acknowledging the reality of global warming and educating staff about the issue. More recently, the company broke away from the herd again by announcing that the pollution reduction requirements for industry outlined in the Houston-Galveston Area State Implementation Plan for ozone nonattainment were feasible at their facilities.

Environmental Education Award – University of Texas Health Science Center
The University of Texas Health Science Center diligently supports environmentally-friendly practices. Their Natural Step training seminars provide a framework for individuals and organizations that are working toward sustainability. The center is also designing a nursing and biomedical training center that will be a model in the field of sustainable architecture.
Note: The invitation to the 2000 Synergy Awards inadvertently omitted mention of the University of Texas Health Science Center as this year’s Environmental Education Award winner.

Founders’ Award - Claire Caudell
Claire Caudell is most known for her work to protect our bayous. In 1984, she served on the founding board of the Buffalo Bayou Coalition. She has since been a board member of the Bayou Preservation Association, Trees for Houston, the Buffalo Bayou Partnership, and Legacy Land Trust. For 10 years, Claire has chaired the Buffalo Bayou Regatta, an event that focuses attention on that historic waterway. She currently serves as chair of the Memorial Park Conservancy as well.

Government Award - Rob Barrett, Director, Harris County Pollution Control Division, Pasadena
Rob Barrett leads the division’s efforts in enforcing pollution legislation. He is a strong supporter of grassroots environmental activism, and his department is unfailingly generous with advice and supplies to local environmental groups.

Lifetime Achievement Award - Ellyn Roof
Ellyn Roof has served on the board of the Galveston Bay Conservation & Preservation Association for three decades and has helped form the Galveston Bay Foundation. Throughout her environmental career, Ellyn has taken a firm stand on the issues that impact the health of Galveston Bay – from construction years ago of the levee surrounding the bay – all the way to Bayport today.

Media Award – Bob Burtman, Houston Press
Bob Burtman has worked as a staff reporter for the Houston Press since 1995. Among many articles, he has written about local water quality, air pollution, and the Bayport project. His frank reporting mixes politics and environment, uncovering the diverse interests behind the issues.

President’s Award - Environmental Justice Clinic, Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University
The Environmental Justice Clinic helps minority and low-income community groups identify and address severe environmental problems in their neighborhoods. The program, which is unique in our area, provides a full range of legal services and community organizing tools that empower underrepresented citizens to effect environmental change.