John Zeugner, AICP
March 2007
As you have probably heard by now, our Group's former chair, Dr Charles Price, has jumped from the frying pan into the fire, taking over as State Chapter chair. I hope you all will join me and the ExComm in thanking him for an outstanding 5 years as Chair of the Falls of the James Group.
His distinguished service included strong, level-headed leadership, astute strategies, great organizing abilities, and unwavering persistence. He chaired our major fundraiser, the Big Yard Sale; organized campaign events large and small; constructively engaged environmental issues, politicians, and state agencies; and always maintained a thoughtful and respectful discussion on the most important issues (reaching for higher ground). Charles could be serious and persistent, and authoritative and persuasive when speaking on environmental issues. He really did advance the credibility and moral imperative of our Sierra Club group, and other issues (parks & nature areas, greenways & blueways, better politicians!).
Moreover (and I'm sure the ExComm would agree) he was, and still is, a pleasure to work with; great at herding cats, always up for a little fun and frivolity, and never at a loss for a pun or an ingenious catch phrase.
Charles, thank you very much, and best successes with the State Chapter!
As the Group's new chair, my plans are rather modest. This spring, the calendar is driving us: Easter is coming and we usually set up a booth on Monument Avenue, for outreach, visibility, and to encourage involvement and activism. Earth Day will be celebrated on April 21st, and our Sierra Club is taking the lead on this. And our Big Yard Sale will be on May 19th; for this we'll need lots of able-bodied workers for that entire week before.
For the first year, I'd say that my platform pertains to climate change and "cool cities" -- not simply signing on, but identifying ways in which we can promote initiatives great and small to reduce our region's energy use, waste and sprawl, and prepare for a warmer climate and potential impacts. I'd like to see broader acknowledgement that environmentalists were right on global warming and have us instigating more debate about the sustainability of our lifestyle, our land use and resource allocations, and even the quality of life for future generations. The tide is turning - please join us in meeting these challenges!