ANGELES CHAPTER AWARDS: CELEBRATING THE SPIRIT OF ACTIVISM

The pre-ceremony reception generously hosted by several entities acknowledged in thank-you note above. Photos By: Silvia Darie

On May 3rd, 2009 290 guests gathered at the Brookside Country Club to honor the finest among them at the Annual Awards Banquet.

The night started off with a festive reception made possible by the generous donations from Crescenta Valley Group, Orange County Group, Palos Verdes South Bay Group, Sierra Sage Group, Sierra Singles, Wilderness Training Committee, Verdugo Hills Group and 20s&30s Singles Section. Our heartfelt thank you goes to those reception hosts.

Many thanks go to Donna Specht for her tireless efforts as Reception Chair.

Angeles Chapter Chair and the evening’s master of ceremonies Darrell Clarke presents Elizabeth Neat with the Madelyn Pyeatt National Award. To their left, images from Inner City Outings.

We are also grateful to all those who donated items for the silent auction. Kudos to Mary Ann Webster for the wonderful job she did as Silent Auction chair. It was an overwhelming success.

During the night we applauded many winners. Top honors went to Elizabeth Neat who accepted the Madelyn Pyeatt National Award, the presentation of which included images of Inner City Outings participants.

We were honored that Virgil Shields made a special trip to accept the Phil Bernays Service Plaque in person.

The Tejon Ranch Task Force.

And we recalled one of our proud moments as a Chapter with a presentation on the Tejon Ranch victory. The night’s closing remarks came from State Assembly Member Antony Portantino, winner of Public Policy Plaque. We had a great time! Thank you Darrell Clarke for being the Master of Ceremonies. Thank you Mike Sappingfield and Sherry Ross for presenting the awards. And check the complete list of awardees at http://angeles.sierraclub.org/about/Awardees2009.asp. Congratulations to them all for a job well done.

It was my privilege to work with such an outstanding committee. Thank you Lori Ives for the advice, wisdom and the programs, Elizabeth Pomeroy for the awards, Cathy Kissinger for the reservations, Donna Specht for the reception, and Mary Ann Webster for the Silent Auction. On behalf of the 2009 Banquet Committee, we also want to thank all the guests for coming to cheer their colleagues. Keep up the good work. Hope to see you next year.

Former Chair Virgil Shields accepts the Phil Bernays Service Plaque as Angeles Chapter Chair Emeritus Mike Sappingfield looks on.