Sierra Club Hosts Fundraiser

Paul Owens
(Photo courtesy of the Loxahatchee Group of the Sierra Club Florida Chapter)

(PRESS RELEASE)_(Palm Beach County, FL – December 12, 2023) The Loxahatchee Group of the Sierra Club Florida Chapter welcomed more than 100 friends and supporters to a special THANKS & GIVING CELEBRATION on November 11 in West Palm Beach.
 
One highlight of fundraiser was the presentation of the prestigious 2023 Environmental Champion Award to Paul Owens, President of 1000 Friends of Florida, the state’s leading not-for-profit smart growth advocacy organization known for building better communities and saving special places. Owens is also the highly respected former Opinion Editor of the Orlando Sentinel.
 
“We are a relatively small organization, so we pick battles that are within our resources and staff, but the recent land-swap proposal was really a seminal issue in Florida. The unnecessary consumption of natural land is so important to our future, our environment and quality of life. In Florida, the environment is our economy,” said Owens when he accepted the award. “If 600 acres designated for conservation can be turned into a luxury subdivision, then no place in Florida is safe, so we decided to fight against it.”
 
“The only way to be sure that you are going lose is by giving up, and that’s what the other side wants us to do.  They a lot of money to throw around, but we have the power of our ideas and people power—and every once in a while, we win. We want to fight for Florida to save Florida,” he added.
 
The local Sierra Club’s THANKS & GIVING CELEBRATION also included hot and cold hors d’oeuvres, wine and beer, live music by Jamie Rasso, and a hot-hot-hot Silent Auction offering vacations, art, outings and adventures, and more. Proceeds from the auction benefit Inspiring Connections Outdoors, the Elaine Usherson Scholarship Program, and the Loxahatchee Group’s conservation efforts.

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