2022 ForeverGreen Annual Awards Luncheon

After forgoing our in-person celebration in 2021 due to the pandemic, it was a joy to gather again to celebrate the Upstate's leaders in conservation on Monday, June 13. 

The ForeverGreen Annual Awards Luncheon celebrates individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions in fields related to conservation and sustainable growth in the Upstate. In addition to the 2022 awards program, this year’s ForeverGreen Luncheon included several special guests: the 2021 award recipients, who we were unable to honor with an in-person celebration last year, and animal ambassadors from PAWS Animal Wildlife Sanctuary.

view ForeverGreen 2022 photo album

Watch ForeverGreen 2022 event recording

2022 Award Recipients

The Tommy Wyche Land Conservation Champion
Hoyt Grant, for his dedication to conservation and the protection of the iconic Grant Meadow and Table Rock viewshed

Clean Water Champion
Tyger River Foundation, for their ongoing work to protect and provide access to water in Spartanburg County

Public Servant of the Year 
Interpretive Ranger Tim Lee, for his decades of service and wildlife education at the Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area

The Marjorie E. Schmidt Stewardship Award 
Mable Owens Clarke, for her tireless and quiet dedication to secure the preservation of the historic Soapstone Church in Pickens County

watch the 2022 award recipient videos 

2021 Award Recipients

Marjorie E. Schmidt Stewardship Award
Ms. Judy I. Cromwell, for her quiet, lifelong dedication to the protection of the Upstate’s greenspaces

Tommy Wyche Land Conservation Champion Award
Dr. Drew Lanham, Alumni Distinguished Professor of Wildlife Ecology at Clemson University, for his decades of teaching, research, and writing that have made the field of conservation more accessible and inclusive

Clean Water Champion Award
The Southern Environmental Law Center, for their work to defend the Clean Water Act, mitigate the effects of toxic coal ash pollution, and hold Kinder Morgan accountable for a massive gasoline spill in Anderson County

Land Planning and Policy Champion Award
Ms. Ginny Stroud, former Community Development Administrator with the City of Greenville, for her tireless dedication to neighborhood revitalization, improvement, and affordable housing development in Greenville

Environmental Equity and Justice Award
Sustaining Way, for their work to cultivate a thriving, sustainable, and equitable environment in Greenville’s Nicholtown and surrounding communities

Brad Wyche Extraordinary Achievement Award
Dr. David L. Hargett, for his visionary 10-year tenure as Executive Director of Conestee Nature Preserve

read more about the 2021 award recipients

Many thanks to the sponsors who generously supported this celebration, and the partners that helped ForeverGreen 2022 come to life including Jane Robelot, Smoak PR, Electric Soul Creative, PAWS Animal Wildlife Sanctuary, and Upstate Forever staff and board members!