FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: October 12, 2015
Contact: Heather B. Navarro, Executive Director
MISSOURI COALITION FOR THE ENVIRONMENT PRESENTS 46TH ANNUAL ENVIRONMENTAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS AT THE GRASSROOTS GALA
Missouri Coalition for the Environment will celebrate its Grassroots Gala “From Street to Skyline” on Friday, October 23rd at 6:30 pm at Rooster on South Grand Boulevard with drinks and desserts following on the Dickmann Building Rooftop, home of MCE headquarters.
The Grassroots Gala celebrates MCE’s 46-year history of protecting and restoring the environment. The gala will feature a special presentation by local author Dean Klinkenberg entitled “The Mississippi River in Song: Floods and Monsters.” Klinkenberg is on a mission to explore the rich history and diverse cultures of the Mississippi River Valley, from the Headwaters in northern Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico. His talks often sample from songs about the river to help illustrate the varied ways to relate to the Mississippi. He is the author of the Frank Dodge series of mysteries and the Mississippi Valley Traveler guidebooks; he also maintains a guide to the towns of the Mississippi River Valley at www.MississippiValleyTraveler.com.
The evening’s awards ceremony will be emceed by Veronique LaCapra, KWMU Science Reporter. Her reports on science research, environment, health, and other topics are heard on stations across Missouri and Illinois, and nationally on NPR.
MCE will present the Kay and Leo Drey Environmental Stewardship Award to Bill Davit, Naturalist and Prairie Restorationist for his work developing the Shaw Nature Reserve and the Litzinger Road Ecology Center prairies. The Barry Commoner Science in Environmental Service Award will be presented to Susan Nagel, PhD at the University of Missouri School of Medicine for her groundbreaking work in identifying the hazards of hydraulic fracking. The Susan Flader Education and Advocacy Award will be presented to Joe Pitts of the James River Basin Partnership, serving southwest Missouri, for his leadership in environmental education and advocacy on behalf of Missouri’s rivers.
The gala is sponsored by Kay Drey, Wayne and Jane Goode, Laura Cohen, Alice Geary Sgroi, Nicholas Kappas, Larry O’Reilly, Al Van Amburg and Jane Matoesian, USAgain, O’Reilly Auto Parts and the Healthy Planet.
Rooster is a member of the St. Louis Green Dining Alliance and is located at 3150 South Grand Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63118. The Dickmann Building is located across the street at 3115 South Grand. Tickets are $100 apiece and can be purchased by visiting the MCE website, www.moenvironment.org/gala or calling the office at 314.727.0600 x. 15. All proceeds benefit the Missouri Coalition for the Environment, working to protect and restore Missouri’s environment.