President Jimmy Carter Honored as 2019 Distinguished Conservationist at 26th Annual ecoBenefête


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The Georgia Conservancy honored Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter as its 2019 Distinguished Conservationist at the Atlanta History Center on November 7th. The Distinguished Conservationist Award, bestowed at that Conservancy’s annual gala, ecoBenefête, recognizes President Carter’s profound and lasting impact on the conservation and protection of Georgia’s natural resources.

As one of the Georgia Conservancy’s charter members in 1967, President Carter’s notable environmental legacy in Georgia and beyond merits celebration by the organization. From his role in preserving the Upper Flint River at Sprewell Bluff, to his establishment of the Georgia Heritage Trust, to his support of significant environmental policy changes and unwavering commitment to our natural resources, President Carter has left our lands and water for the better.

“My thoughts on conservation are grounded in a lifelong love of the natural wonders of Georgia and our responsibility to pass on the land, water, and forests in a better condition than we inherited them,” wrote President Carter in his acceptance of the Distinguished Conservationist Award. “Growing up on a farm, I understood the protection of the earth was the individuals’ responsibility and that we must carefully manage and enhance nature rather than degrade it. I am proud to have had the opportunity to share these ideals with the Georgia Conservancy. Their leadership in environmental preservation, protection, and policy enactment was helpful to me as State Senator, Governor of Georgia, and then President of the United States.”

President Carter’s childhood experience on his family farm in Georgia and early notions of stewardship contributed to a strong environmental ethic, which was expressed during his tenures as State Senator, Governor, and President of the United States. That environmental awareness and concern bore fruit in Georgia at Panola Mountain, at Sweetwater Creek, and at Sprewell Bluff, along the Chattahoochee River, in the wild and scenic waters of the Chattooga, and on Ossabaw Island. Georgians today enjoy these places because President Carter understood that nature could not take care of itself alone, that environmental advocacy and protection are the responsibility of us all, as are the consequences of neglect.

“Future generations of conservation leaders must remember that we are stewards of a precious gift, which is not an unpleasant duty but rather an exciting challenge,” said President Carter. “We must safeguard our land so that our children and grandchildren can enjoy freshwater, clean air, scenic mountains and coasts, fertile agricultural lands, and healthy, safe places to live and thrive.”

The 26th annual ecoBenefête was a singular opportunity to honor the legacy of President Carter and his extraordinary impact on Georgia, the Georgia Conservancy, and the environment.

Two former Georgia Conservancy Trustees and current members of The Carter Center Board of Councilors, Claire Arnold and Joel Cowan, accepted the award on behalf of President Carter in his absence and discussed with the audience his continuing influence on environmental stewardship and their hope for the future of the Georgia Conservancy.

“The collaboration that the Georgia Conservancy has done for many years on issues with disparate parties that are far apart, they have been able to bring them together,” said Arnold. “The Conservancy has played a quiet, collaborative, constructive role, and I think that that has to continue.”

In reaffirming the Georgia Conservancy’s mission to carry forward President Carter’s conservationist ideals and continue in that collaborative role, Georgia Conservancy President Bart Gobeil announced an exciting new project aimed at preparing Georgia for an estimated 40% increase in population by 2030.

“I’m proud to announce tonight that we have partnered with our friends at Georgia Tech on an effort to historically review, through advanced GIS mapping, the state’s land coverage and usage for every decade since 1970,” said Gobeil. “This data will provide us with an in-depth overview of how the state’s land use has changed as we have grown in population over the years, and going forward will allow the partnership to create scenarios and variables to help us predict land usage as these 4 million individuals move to our state. These scenarios and predictions will provide us with an advocacy and collaboration road map that ensures the next phase of our state’s growth is consistent in a manner that is true to our value statement which demands a Georgia where both people and the environmental thrive.” 

Click here to read President Jimmy Carter’s acceptance letter.


Flint River at Sprewell Bluff by Jim Farmer

Flint River at Sprewell Bluff by Jim Farmer

“Now is the time for us to acknowledge that we can no longer live without respecting and understanding our mountain forests and other great ecosystems of the earth which have for millennia supported the habitat of man.” 

- President Jimmy Carter, preface to The Georgia Conservancy’s Guide to the North Georgia Mountains, 1990.


Video production and narration courtesy of WSB-TV and Cox Enterprises.
Special thank you to Condace Pressley, Jennifer Grove, Leona Nascimento, and John Pruitt.


26th Annual EcoBenefete Photos

Photos by Ben Rose Photography // www.BenRosePhotography.com
Click here to view more photos on Facebook


26th Annual ECOBENEFETE SPONSORS

Thank you to the individuals and organizations who joined us in honoring Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter as our 2019 Distinguished Conservationist and who support our work in the state of Georgia throughout the year.

 
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Atlanta Fine Homes | Sotheby’s International Realty
Atlanta History Center
Dennis Dean Catering
Eventologie
Georgia Aquarium


Morris Manning + Martin, LLP
Squire Patton Boggs (US) LLP
Tall Timbers
Uber
WSB-TV


Host Committee

Yum & Ross Arnold
Liz Blake
Wendy & Randy Earley
Bill & Mitzi Linginfelter
Clay & the Honorable Elizabeth Long

Ingrid Saunders Jones
Senator Mack Mattingly
Leslie Davisson Mattingly
Jim & Ibby Mills


Patrons

Anonymous
Patricia Thrower Barmeyer
Crystal & Mark Berry
Susan Beger & Norman Race
Donna & Chip Davidson
Holly & Rick Downey
John J. & Patricia Godwin Dunleavy

Steve Green & Barbara Lynn Howell
The Izard Family
Lacey Lewis
Twinker & Keith Mason
Sally & Jim Morgens
Stephanie & Steve Pohl
Charles & Becky Ricketts
Denise & Will Wingate


1967 Society Members

Learn more about the 1967 Society

Tricia & Inman Allen
Brent Beatty
Susan Beger & Norman Race 
Becky & Jim Blalock
Crystal & Mark Berry
Charlie Covert
Ann Cramer 
Elly & Ed Dobbs
Erin Croom & Byron Kirkpatrick 
Lisa L. Douglas  
Holly & Rick Downey
John J. & Patricia Godwin Dunleavy 
Wendy & Randy Earley
Gregory Euston 
Dan & Linda Gerding   
Chris & Bo Hagler 
John Izard 

Joann Gallagher Jones
Becky & George Kaffezakis
Kirk Malmberg
Sally & Jim Morgens 
Mary Morrison
Dinah Monk
Amanda Brown Olmstead & George Olmstead
Christie & Ranse Partin
Kelli & Russell Pennington    
Stephanie & Steve Pohl
Stacy & Sachin Shailendra
Pamela & Jeffrey Simyon 
Stephanie & Austin Stephens 
Jenny & Michael Stubbs
Anita Abbott & James D. Timmons 
Katherine & Scott Warden 
Cindy Weinbaum & Mark Prausnitz
Laura & Malon Wickham


Georgia Conservancy Natural Partners

Learn more about our Natural Partners Program

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