UPDATE: Enrichmond’s Celebration & Trailblazer Awards: A new way to honor the environmentally rad

Celebrate people and organizations who bend over backwards for RVA’s parks and green spaces, and also celebrate the foundation that celebrates them. Just do a lot of celebrating!

March 23, 2015; 1:34 PM • by Susan Howson

Update #1 — March 23, 2015; 1:34 PM

An exciting update! Google has gotten in on the Trailblazer game, and has agreed to pair the awards with a financial prize:

Each recipient will receive one of the following, respectively:

• Trailblazer Student: $2,000 scholarship
• Trailblazer Volunteer: $1,000
• Trailblazer Organization: $1,000

In light of this new information, Enrichmond is extending the nomination period to Thursday, April 2nd at 5:00 PM. Nominate online.

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Original — March 23, 2015

Enrichmond turns 25 this year, which makes it just 453,999,999,975 years younger than the planet it works so hard to protect!

To be specific, Enrichmond works so hard to protect the public parks and spaces of our city, making it a beautiful part of our planet, instead of a problematic part.

The Awards

To celebrate, the foundation introduces the first annual Trailblazer Awards for individuals and organizations making a difference in the health of RVA’s environment. Nominations will be accepted in three categories, and may be submitted until 5:00 PM next Thursday, April 2nd.

Do you know anyone who fits any of the below descriptions? If so, nominate ’em!

From Enrichmond:

• Student • This honor will be awarded to a graduating high school senior, living in the City of Richmond, who demonstrates a strong commitment to a sustainable world through deeds and words.
• Volunteer • This honor will be awarded to the volunteer whose unwavering commitment to enhancing Richmond’s sustainable future and environmental health is unsurpassed.
• Community Leader • This distinction is our highest award recognizing outstanding environmental leaders, whether individuals or organizations, that have exemplified leadership, vision, innovation and action for the natural environment.

The Celebration

Congratulate the winners and/or just fete the night away surrounded by environmentally-conscious Richmonders; heavy hors d’oeuvres from Ellwood Thompson’s; beer, wine, and cider; and live music. It’s your call, although we’re not sure why you’d want to do one but not the other. 

To sweeten the deal, Enrichmond welcomes John Woolard, VP of Energy at Google. In case you’ve never heard of Google, it’s a little mom-and-pop search-engine-turned-innovator-in-general. Although Google is still a tiny startup struggling to get some name recognition, they’ve made it one of their priorities to work on solving the ever-looming energy question. Namely: can it be had by different yet accessible means?

Woolard is a native Richmonder, a fact that should make all of us intensely proud. He was around during the early days of Enrichmond, and worked with them and current board member Casey Cockerham to found Passages Adventure Camp in 1993. Since then, he’s gone on to co-found one of the world’s first clean energy companies as well as the largest utility-scale solar plant int he world.

 Enrichmond 25th Anniversary Celebration and Trailblazer Award Ceremony

• Friday, April 10th • 7:00 – 9:00 PM
• Science Museum of Virginia, 2500 W. Broad Street
• $50 per individual, $375 for an 8-person table, purchase tickets online or at Ellwood Thompson’s

Don’t forget submit a Trailblazer Award nomination!

You have until Thursday, April 2nd at 5:00 PM. Do not delay, and nominate here!

March 23, 2015 1:34 PM 0 1 update