Celebrating sustainable

Everything “sustainable” — a tag line that is too easily abused
— was celebrated in authentic fashion last Saturday at the first
annual Leadership in Sustainability Awards, sponsored by the
Leadership Institute for Ecology and the Economy and held at the
Mary Agatha Furth Center in Windsor.
Attended by several hundred political, business, community,
social justice and farming leaders, the occasion marked the
beginning of the 10th year for the Institute, founded upon the
vision of Rick Theis and C.J. Johnson that has now produced a brand
new genus of environmentally-attuned leaders.
Among the gathering of like-minded people who believe everyone
must shrink their carbon footprints on the planet, the evening’s
events left a very big impression on the county’s political
leadership horizon.
Six special awards were given to local groups and individuals
for their contributions “toward a sustainable future” and keynote
speaker David W. Orr, author and professor from Oberlin College,
talked about the “difference between being right and being
effective.”
Orr, Theis and the honorees and assembled politicians paused to
marvel how Sonoma County has become a national leader — with
remarkable achievements to prove it — in creating socially,
economically and environmentally sustainable communities and
initiatives.
“I think people across the country are looking at us and saying,
‘if it’s possible in Sonoma County, then I guess we can do it,
too,’” said Ann Hancock, honored during the evening for her
“tireless efforts to educate and advocate about climate
change.”
Each year since 2000, the Institute has enrolled and educated
leadership candidates who study public policy, sustainable
technology, environmental innovations and basic leadership skills.
Today, some of these Fellows are serving in elected office, on
government staffs and on newly formed sustainability and green
technology firms and projects.
The gathering attracted State Senator Pat Wiggins,
Assemblymember Noreen Evans, councilmen from Windsor, Healdsburg,
Sebastopol, Santa Rosa and Petaluma and a quorum of county
supervisors (Shirley Zane, Efren Carrillo and Mike Kerns.)
Among the honorees for the evening was Mark Inman, co-founder of
Taylor Maid Farms coffee processor who was honored for his
sustainable business practices which include organic growing and
providing living wages and benefits to small growers in Central
America.
Petaluma Bounty was honored as an organization that teaches low
income people to grow healthy food and participate in a sharing
network of distribution.
Evelina Molina was honored as a “trailblazer” for founding the
North Bay Institute for Green technology which trains low-income
youth for gree-collar jobs. Ann Hancock was chosen for an
individual award as a founding member of Sustainable Sonoma County
and her leadership of the Climate Protection Campaign.
The many partners of the Sonoma Mountain Village and Accountable
Development Coalition were honored for their shared work and vision
for a group of sustainable projects in housing, mixed-use
development and job creation.