2009 Vision 2020 Awards

Join us Wednesday, April 14th at Leland Stanford Mansion State Historic Park in Sacramento for the Sierra Day in the Capitol reception and our 2009 Vision 2020 Awards ceremony. This free event is open to the public and features appetizers and a no-host bar. We are proud to feature the best food, wine, and beer from the Sierra Nevada. Visit our events page for map and directions. Please note that valet parking will be available for a fee of $6 per vehicle. 

Sierra Business Council's 2009 Award Winners include:

Lifetime Achievement Award - Mike Chrisman, former Secretary for Natural Resources for the California Resource Agency
Mike Chrisman was named California Secretary for Resources by Governor Schwarzenegger in November 2003. As a member of the governor's cabinet, Secretary Chrisman served as his chief advisor on issues related to the state's natural, historic, and cultural resources. Mr. Chrisman's time as Secretary was also pivotal in the formation of the Sierra Nevada Conservancy in 2004.

Reed Tollefson, Manager, Audubon Kern River Preserve
Reed Tollefson has led an environmental protection effort amounting to over 22,000 acres conserved in Kern River Valley and Walker Basin through acquisition of lands. These protection efforts have maintained the rural nature of these communities and helped area ranches survive during tumultuous economic times.

Meea Kang, President and Founding Partner, Domus Development
Meea Kang and Domus Development's projects demonstrate a tremendous social mission that provides quality affordable housing to those in need. Meea is a founding partner of Domus and brings over seventeen years of professional experience to the field of housing development. The community planning process on Domus' first project in the Sierra Nevada at Kings Beach demonstrates leadership for the future of affordable housing in the region.

Jim Turner, Operations Manager, Sierra Pacific Industries Loyalton Co-Generation Plant
Keith Logan, Logan and Associates and the Northern Sierra Biomass Utilization Task Force
Jim Turner and Keith Logan's team have worked to maintain a co-generation power plant in Loyalton, CA after the closure of the town's local sawmill, which eliminated the fuel source for the plant and dramatically affected local employment. Through a collaborative effort, Jim and Keith were pivotal in developing multiple sustainable and renewable fuel sources to keep the plant operational, in addition to navigating the political course of the process. Their collaborative effort has proven instrumental in developing biomass supply opportunities throughout the region.

Congratulations and thank you to the following Vision 2020 award nominees for stewarding the sustainability movement in the Sierra Nevada:

A.P.P.L.E. Center for Sustainability
Amador Fire Safe Council
ANOVA Architects
Catherine Lambie, Director, Blue Mountain Coalition for Youth & Families
City of South Lake Tahoe Sustainability Plan
Doug Read, Community Member and Volunteer Coordinater for Nordic Search and Rescue and Sierraville Fire Department
Ed Heneveld, Community Member in Squaw Valley
Frank DeCourten, Sierra College Administrator
Janet Phillips, President, Tahoe Pyramid Bikeway
Jeff Darlington, Executive Director, Placer Land Trust
Juan F. Guzman, Carson City Open Space Manager
Keep the Sierra Green Business Recognition Program
Mai Toy, Project Manager, PCWA FERC
Mali Dyck, APPLE Center for sustainable living
Mammoth Mountain Ski Resort, Community and water district partnership
Mayumi Elegado, Publisher, Moonshine Ink
Mickey's Pet Stop
Nadi Spencer, First Saturdays art festival in Three Rivers
River Ridge Ranch
Robert "Bob" Marshall, GM, Plumas-Sierra Rural Electric Cooperative
Sierra Economic Development, Corp - Small business and entrepeneur trainings
Tahoe Basin Prosperity Plan
Teresa May Duggan, Community Organizer in Kings Beach and Tahoe Basin
Tom Anderson, Community Member, Kern River Revitalization
Wildflowers Forever, Sierra smart gardening program
California Department of Transportation (CalTrans) District 9, enhancing historic eastern Sierra 

What are Sierra Business Council's Vision 2020 Awards?
Some of the greatest things happen under conditions of adversity and at Sierra Business Council we’re committed to approaches that create opportunity from those exact circumstances. Each year, the regional sustainability non-profit, Sierra Business Council, hosts an event to recognize and encourage leadership in the Sierra, honoring community members as their work continues to achieve excellence in projects and approaches that foster community vitality, environmental quality, economic prosperity, and social fairness.

For more information about our past award winners, click here to view our media kit.

Click here to learn more about past winners