 CLICK HERE TO WATCH 2006 ENVI AWARD VIDEO CLIPS
CLICK HERE TO VIEW 2006 ENVI AWARD PHOTOS
Eastern Kentucky PRIDE recognized exceptional contributions to the environment of southern and eastern Kentucky at the Sixth Annual PRIDE Envi Awards on May 8 at The Center for Rural Development in Somerset. The awards program was recorded for broadcast on WYMT-TV in June.
Seven awards were presented to schools, volunteers and leaders from Adair, Floyd, Johnson, Laurel, Letcher, McCreary and Whitley Counties.
Prestonsburg Elementary School was named the Elementary School Campus of the Year for promoting environmental education through hands-on learning opportunities with an outdoor classroom, wetland, rain garden, butterfly garden, vegetable garden and school-wide recycling.
North Laurel Middle School earned the Middle School Campus of the Year Award for its expansive outdoor-classroom projects, aquaculture studies, mentoring program, school-wide recycling program and participation in local cleanups.
Letcher County Central High School was recognized as the High School Campus of the Year for its unique courses that combine science, community service and public policy by challenging students to develop research projects about environmental issues and then recommend possible solutions.
The McCreary County Extension Service took home the College/Community Project of the Year Award for raising awareness about bird habitat through an annual bird house construction project with the county’s fifth-grade students, scout troops, and youth and adult day care centers.
The Kiwanis Club of Paintsville earned the Tony Turner Volunteer of the Year Award for its environmental cleanup and education efforts in Johnson County, such as coordinating the Paintsville Lake Cleanup, and maintaining a handicap-accessible fishing pier and walking trail at the lake.
A.L. Sinclair, Adair County Solid Waste Coordinator, received the Rogers-Bickford Environmental Leadership Award for implementing a variety of cleanup activities, establishing a strong PRIDE presence in the local schools and inspiring others to care for the environment.
Penny and Robert Brown of Corbin were honored with the Kentucky PRIDE Award for their contribution to the future of environmental education through a land gift for the development of an Riverwoods, the PRIDE Environmental Education Center, which is now in the planning stages.
“I congratulate our Envi Award finalists and winners,” said Congressman Hal Rogers (KY-5). “You earned this special recognition because you improved our environment this year. You should take great pride in knowing that you made a difference. I certainly am proud of you.”
Rogers continued, “The Envi Awards honor the people who went an extra mile for PRIDE this year, but there are literally thousands of additional volunteers, community leaders and students who are paving the way to a cleaner, healthier future. I thank you all.”
In addition to Rogers, other special guests at the Envi Awards were Cynthia Rogers; Jill Crawford, daughter of PRIDE co-founder, the late James E. Bickford; and Geraldine and Courtney Turner, the widow and daughter of Tony Turner, who was the Vice President and Station Manager at WYMT-TV and founding chairman of the PRIDE Board of Directors. The ceremony featured entertainment by Carl Hurley, the Harlan Boys Choir, Alison Wasson and Shady Grove Express, Shefton Kash, and Brittany Moore.
The PRIDE initiative was launched in 1997 by Rogers and Bickford, who was the Secretary of the Kentucky Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Cabinet. PRIDE serves 38 counties in southern and eastern Kentucky. The organization links citizens with the resources of local, state and federal agencies to clean up the region’s waterways, end illegal trash dumps and promote environmental education and awareness. PRIDE is funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
For more information, please call the PRIDE office at 888-577-4339 or visit the PRIDE web site, www.kypride.org.
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