| CURRENT EVENTS
Swamp Soirée
Legacy Continues
The Sixth Annual Swamp Soirée
proved to be a stand-out event as over 450 guests were treated to
a magical evening held at the home of Hale and Lelia Barrett on
Thursday, June 10. As patrons took in the blissful sounds of the
Carl Purdy Bluegrass Band, they enjoyed fly fishing demonstrations
by local outdoorsman, Perry Houck, a wildlife display complete with
native swamp reptiles by Tony Mills of the Savannah River Ecology
Laboratory, and incredible cuisine catered by Dye’s Southern
Grill. Special thanks to Michael E. Johnson Photography for capturing
moments from the special night.
The flawless event raised a record-breaking $60,000 for Academy
education, research, and outreach programs.
The night reached an exciting pinnacle as names were drawn for raffle
prizes. Philip Rhodes of Augusta won a Swifty recreational kayak
donated by American Wilderness Outfitters Limited. Robert Nesbit
of Augusta won an Orvis leather bull hide carry-on luggage piece
from Rivers and Glen Trading Company. Fred Thielke of Augusta won
a half day, in-shore fly fishing charter with Captain Duane Harris
from Sea Georgia Adventures of St. Simons Island. Jean Fox of Park
City, Utah won a Giant ® bicycle from Andy Jordan’s Bicycle
Warehouse. Mary Howard of Augusta rounded up the winners with her
prize, a four canoe rental and picnic lunch from Broadway Tackle
and Canoe Rental and Vinny’s Pizzeria Bar and Grill.
The evening reached new heights this year with the tireless efforts
of the Swamp Soirée 2004 volunteer committee: Jenny Addie,
Lelia Barrett, Jackie Blanchard, Fred Davison, Susan Evans, Minta
Nixon, Sandra Norvell, Alice Sanders, Lyn Smith, and event Co-chairs
Braye Boardman and Julia Vagovic. Special thanks to Hale and Lelia
Barrett for their continued generosity as hosts of the Swamp Soirée
for the past six years. (See page 7 for additional volunteer thanks.)
Our deepest gratitude to area businesses that made in-kind donations
to Swamp Soirée: Arby’s, Augusta PressTech, Fastsigns,
and Green Thumb West.
Our sincere thanks to the following Soirée Patrons and other
generous donors who enabled the Academy to reach beyond its fundraising
goals. (A complete list of Soirée contributors will be published
in the 2004 annual report which will be found in the Spring 2005
Swamp Notes.)
Soiree Group 2004
Center for Ecological
Restoration Grand Opening
The April 27 Grand Opening
Event for of the Center for Ecological Restoration at the Kennecott
Ridgeway Gold Mine in Fairfield County, South Carolina, marked an
exciting day in Academy history. With this opening, the Academy
officially widened its scope beyond the Central Savannah River Area.
Guests enjoyed tours of the facility and pit lakes and learned about
the Academy’s plans to test, develop, and display innovative
restoration and reforestation techniques at the Center.
After dinner, remarks were given by Fred Fox, Adrian Jackman and
Roy Duckett of Kennecott Minerals Company, and were followed by
a presentation by Academy President and CEO Dr. Gene Eidson. Special
thanks to Roy Duckett for coordinating the event.
North pit at Kennecott
Ridgeway Mine
Academy Hosts Earth
Day Augusta
The April 24 Earth Day Augusta
celebration kicked off to the sound of a duck call and nearly one
hundred twenty runners sprinting toward the Nature Park’s
constructed wetland trail. The Academy’s 3rd Annual Swamp
Stomp 5K Run/Walk was a snap to Tyler Hayden, winning the race in
a mere nineteen minutes and twenty-one seconds.
The Academy hosted exhibitors, workshops, guided nature park tours,
and children’s activities in celebration of Earth Day. Emceed
by Mayor Bob Young, Earth Day ceremonies included Academy President
and CEO Dr. Gene Eidson, Art of Nature Contest winners, and finalists
in the Augusta Chronicle’s Make Kids Count Scholarship Drawing
(see page 7 for contest winners and judges). This year’s exhibitors
included: Atlanta Gas Light, Augusta Canal Authority, Augusta-Aiken
Audubon Society, Augusta-Richmond County Fire Department, Augusta
Richmond County Recreation and Parks Department, Central Savannah
River Land Trust, Fort Gordon Environmental Natural Resources Management,
Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Georgia Department of Natural
Resources Environmental Protection Division, Georgia Forest Service,
Georgia Science Teachers Association, Metro Augusta Clean and Beautiful,
National Science Center’s Fort Discovery, OMI, Savannah River
Keepers, Sierra Club, Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Spirit
Creek Educational Forest, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. This year’s
workshops and presentations included: Bird Watching and Bird House
Display by Ken Badke of Wild Birds Unlimited, Recycling Art Materials
by Jill Korn, Fly Fishing by Perry Houck, Nature Photography by
Ed Belinski, a live animal display and demonstration by Ron Saxon,
Paper Making by Cathy Black of Spirit Creek Educational Forest,
Organic Pest Control by Sid Mullis, and Bartram Conference Preview
by Dr. Ed Cashin and Dr. Kathryn Braund.
Earth Day Augusta was made possible by a volunteer committee which
strategized and coordinated this year’s event: Jackie Blanchard,
Heather Crist, Pat Crumrine, Richard Herring, Gordon Johnson, and
Jessie Ozmelek.
Earth Day Partners were: The Augusta Chronicle, Augusta Richmond
County Recreation and Parks Department, Comcast, WCHZ 95 Rock, and
WRDW News 12.
Swamp Stomp 5K sponsors were: The Athlete’s Foot, Club Car,
Fastsigns, La Dolce Vita, Food Lion, Green Thumb West, Melwood Springs,
Pfizer, Roll’n Frank, Wingstop, and Wachovia.
Art of Nature contest sponsors consisted of: Artistic Perceptions,
The Attic, Bailie’s Art Center, Gensheer Studios Gallery,
Hang Ups, Lucy Craft Laney Museum, Mary Pauline Gallery, and Morris
Museum of Art.
A very special thanks to all volunteers, sponsors, and partners
who made Earth Day Augusta a success!
Tyler Hayden Leads the Pack
DOT/DNR/Academy Agreement
Signed
The Academy recently finalized a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
with the Georgia Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Georgia
Department of Natural Resources (DNR), giving the Academy non-exclusive
use of the DOT-owned Phinizy Swamp Tract for education, research
and public outreach activities. We are excited about entering into
this agreement, as it expands the Academy’s borders into untapped
Phinizy Swamp treasures to incorporate into our programs.
Academy Achieves Affiliate
Status with University of Georgia
The Academy is proud to announce that we have been granted affiliate
status with the University of Georgia’s Institute of Ecology.
The Academy now boasts formal affiliations with two regional universities,
UGA and Clemson, which enables us to offer those students coursework,
and also opens the door to collaborative research and grant opportunities.
A
New Way to Contribute
Did you know you can now donate stock to the Academy? The Academy
recently opened a brokerage account to accept contributions of stock.
Please call the Academy offices at 706-828-2109 for more details.
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