Chapter members receive state awards

Three Bay Chapter members are among the recipients of this year's Sierra Club California awards, presented at the Sierra Club California Convention in San Luis Obisbo on June 4.

Clayton Mansfield received the Founders Award, recognizing an individual who has served Sierra Club California in an administrative or organizational capacity. Clayton has a long record of working, at group, chapter, and state levels, to make the Sierra Club run more smoothly. A mediator, he tries to find balanced solutions to conflicts. He has a talent for finding names, rules, and ways to get things done. He played an invaluable role in getting Sierra Club California elections to function during a period of transition. He also pitches in with hands-on work, for example putting in countless hours last fall working for the re-election of his supervisor. He invests himself in what he believes in.

Don Forman, editor of the Yodeler, receives the Mary Ferguson Award, recognizing a paid staff member who has served the Sierra Club in California. Don started as a volunteer writer for the Yodeler in 1977, and for the past 14 years has served as editor. Through the Yodeler he tries to advance all the Chapter's efforts - on conservation issues at the local, state, and national levels; for activities; and to serve members' needs. He prods leaders to get them to submit articles, and then pushes further to edit the articles to be readable, informative, accurate, and effective. He regards these articles as important elements of all our campaigns, and works with leaders to think through a successful communications strategy. He maintains a network of connections throughout the Chapter and Sierra Club California to make sure nothing important is missed.

Tara Mueller receives a Special Award for her six years of leadership of the Club's California Legislative Committee (CLC). This crucial committee analyzes proposed legislation and guides the staff of Sierra Club California in navigating the technical and tricky world of Sacramento politics. Tara has devoted countless hours to studying complex legislative proposals, carefully reading the proposed law and always aware of the real-world effects the law could have on our environment and the lives of Californians. She has been particularly involved with forestry, endangered species, and defending the state's preeminent environmental law, the California Environmental Quality Act. Bill Allayaud, state director of Sierra Club California, says, "the CLC has thrived under Tara's leadership, and I can honestly say that under her seasoned and steady watch, the staff has not missed a beat in defending and promoting California's laws to protect our air, land, and water." Tara is a lawyer in the state attorney general's office, and while she uses her background in law to help the Club, she is scrupulous about not getting involved in CLC matters that could be interpreted as a conflict with her work. Allayaud says "the staff respects Tara not just for her analytical abilities, but for her passion for protecting and restoring California's environment."

Other awards go to:

• Gordon Nipp (Sally and Les Reid Award for conservation activism), a hike leader as well as an activist in diverse causes including protection of the Santa Monica Mountains, national parks, and especially cleaning up the air in the South San Joaquin Valley, where he has won 10 legal challenges against developers;
• Jack Beigle (William Penn Mott Award for contributions to California state parks), a superb natural-history interpreter as well as a behind-the-scenes worker for park improvements;
• Heather Anderson (Ye Olde Bottle Award for public-lands activism), an artist and art educator who, in addition to the usual forms of activism, uses her art to instill respect and love for the wild environment;
• Bill Allayaud (John Zierold Award for service to Sierra Club California in legislative advocacy), the state director of Sierra Club California and head of our team of Sacramento lobbyists. He came on at a troubled time for Sierra Club California, but (along with Julia Bott) he brought order out of chaos, and has done a superb job managing all the many facets of the office in Sacramento, as well as being an outstanding lobbyist and leader.