GMCG Annual Meeting High Watch Community Awards since 1999

1999 High Watch Community Award:

Jennifer Van Cor, Bill Piekut, Susan Slack for help in forming GMCG

2000 High Watch Community Award:

Harry Merrow, Alice Amero;

2001 High Watch Community Award:

Toby Page, CLA,Larry Leavitt, Effingham Conservation Commission

2002 High Watch Community Award:

David Little, Brianne Fowler

2003 High Watch Community Award:

Jennifer Molin, Noreen Downs, Ed Reed, John Hogan for their superb efforts on Trout Pond Town Forest

2004 High Watch Community Award:

David Smith, Ossipee Lake Alliance, also recognized were Susan Lee and Jill Piekut for their work on the Newsletter

2005 High Watch Community Award:

 Katy Thompson and Willie Farnum

2006 High Watch Community Award:

Kamal Nath and Theresa Swanick

2007 High Watch Community Award:

John Shipman for his work on the Ossipee Watershed Coalition project, and to Lee Polluck for his work with the macro invertebrates and WQM projects this past year.

2008 High Watch Community Award:

Chele Miller, Katie Callahan and Scott Aspinall

2009 High Watch Community Award:

George and Marcia Forrest for sharing their home with summer UVM intern, Mia Akaogi and Danielle Dugas and Jerry Dugas for fixing up the “Bat Cave” for the WQM program.

2010 High Watch Community Award:

Sally and Bill Stoops for their efforts in creating the Scarborough Ridge Trail; Walter Bailey for his efforts in creating an aquifer protection ordinance and successfully advocating for water protection from an application for water extraction in his region in Maine.

2011 High Watch Community Award:

Justin Chapman, teacher and work with school programs; Jay Buckley of Madison for his work with the Aquifer Ordinances; Richard Lover and Dennis Gould for their work on behalf of the boating community on Ossipee Lake and advocacy to conserve the OLNA.

2012 High Watch Community Award:

Pat Jones, Ossipee for her work on the Aquifer Ordinances; Carolyn Hemmingway, teacher Ossipee Central School.

2013 High Watch Community Award:

Stephanie Barnes for her vision to protect wetlands; Lynn Clarke for all her volunteering and commitment to youth programs.

2014 High Watch Community Award:

Brian and Carol Taylor for their volunteerism across the watershed ranging from helping collect data, to research for the development community to helping fix Huntress House driveway!  Rick Klausner for his help with water quality data collection not only the Lake but on the rivers in the winter with EpScor meter.

2015 17th Annual Meeting

Ed Green, Tim Otterbach for WQM and Soak BMP help, Jason Earle and Bill Huckins for three years of help with planning for the new Blue Heron House.

2016 High Watch Community Award:

Jim McElroy for his work on Ossipee Lake protecting water quality; Paul Ellie for his work with GMCG and with the town of Freedom; Corey Lane for all of her coordinating volunteers and passion for Water Quality.

2017 High Watch Community Award:

Anne Cunningham for her work in Freedom on Westward Shores campground expansion; Hannah Rousey for her stance in saying “no” to Nestle and standing up for water as a human right.

2018 High Watch Community Award:

Kingswood Regional High School for their successful campaign to lessen plastic consumption in the cafeteria; Richard Fahy for his work in speaking out about protecting the aquifer in west Ossipee; Sabin Beckwith for his efforts to lessen plastic at Province Lake Golf Course; Tim White for 20 years of awesome cartoons.

2019 High Watch Community Award:

Tom Howe, SPNHF partner who was the very first supporter to GMCG.  Not only did Blair meet Tom at the May 1, 1997 High Watch event where Charlie and Patricia Watts spoke when they donated their 2000 acres to SPNHF, but Tom was a constant consultant for Blair when she was forming the organization.  In fact, GMCG initially was only the town of Effingham when it first incorporated in 1997.  By January of 1998, the group knew it needed to be “watershed based” and Blair reached out to Tom Howe to see if he would help promote this and help recruit watershed-wide board members. In January of 1998, SPNHF hosted a watershed meeting and introduced GMCG’s proposal to create a 6-town organization dedicated to the conservation of shared resources in the Ossipee Watershed.  Tom helped over the years from land protection to policy to advocacy to educational events.  It is a great joy and honor to share this award with him today.

Tom Masland, GMCG Attorney for his ever-present help with everything from reviewing water quality monitoring release forms to questions about financial policies to advocacy screening and land trust contracts. He is a voice of truth and pureness always and I have deep personal respect for his integrity!

Amanda Stone for her continued support to GMCG from its inception and for her risk in trusting that our forming was a “good thing” and for her early support and finding funding through her program to pay Blair as the first executive director because she so believed in GMCG’s mission.

Cheryl King-Fischer from NEGEF for taking a risk with GMCG and giving us our first grant, which Blair wrote by firelight during the 1998 ice storm. She was our enviro mom and later as we grew became our enviro sister.

 

2020 High Watch Volunteer Awards

Dr. Robert Newton for his leadership of the 2019 Groundwater Study, the third groundwater study collaboration with his lab at Smith College which has successfully tested over 200 wells across the watershed in 2009, 2016 and 2019. Dr. Newton was also recognized for his tireless efforts to prevent further wastewater discharge at Pinetree Power and his continued guidance of water quality research.
Karen & Victor Vitek received the award for their extensive support for and involvement in GMCG’s classroom education programs including the GET WET! groundwater education program and VBAP (Volunteer Biological Assessment Program), participation in RIVERS monitoring, and their concerted advocacy work to protect fellow residents from the Pinetree Power effluent threat.

2021 High Watch Volunteer Awards

Tim Otterbach for his priceless expertise and countless hours devoted to the maintenance, improvement, and expansion of the Blue Heron House and GMCG facilities.

2022 High Watch Volunteer Awards

Mark Longley of Sandwich for his dedication to groundwater monitoring and protection and his participation on several committees as well as the GMCG Board.