I would be remiss if I let the year go by without mentioning in this column that 2001 represents the 30th year of operations for the Citizens’ Environmental Coalition. For any nonprofit – and especially for an environmental nonprofit in Houston – this is a tremendous accomplishment. It speaks to the dedication of hundreds of individuals who served on the CEC Board over the last three decades, as well as to the strength of the environmental community here along the Gulf Coast.

CEC’s founding mothers (the lone male in the group didn’t last long) began meeting as Citizens Who Care in 1958. “The purpose was to form an organization free from a political or Chamber of Commerce connotation, who could address present and future deterioration of the quality of life in a city without the will or tools to plan ahead,” explains founder Terry Hershey.

The ladies, many of whom led organizations and causes on their own, felt a need for communication among groups. The leadership of several existing citizens groups got in the habit of meeting monthly and, in 1971, the non-profit corporation Citizens’ Environmental Coalition, Inc. was born.

After a few years, and a few directors, CEC’s direction evolved. We have always published a monthly calendar of member group activities, and a yearly resource guide listing the groups’ leadership and their phone numbers was soon produced.

CEC has provided a number of other services over the years – publications, public hearings, educational forums, a scholarship program, a speakers bureau, contests, a telephone answering service – but our core communication function remains. Our calendar, website, resource guide, and office and meeting room space continue to link organization to organization and cause to cause.

If the last thirty years were about raising awareness, the next thirty will be about taking action. Public opinion, as well as the business and political leadership, have learned that quality of life issues are at the core of making Houston a better home. Although much progress has been made since 1971, we still have a long way to go.

We should all be proud that a group like the CEC has made it this far, with its mission intact. We look forward to the next generation of CEC leaders, new nonprofit groups that have yet to be formed, and new issues that we have yet to uncover. And we look forward to the day when we don’t need environmental nonprofits anymore, a day when the quality of life is good enough that our work will be done.