Nikki Grumbine to receive Clean Water Champion award

Nikki Grumbine is being honored with the Clean Water Champion award at the 2019 ForeverGreen Awards Luncheon. The award recognizes Ms. Grumbine for her leadership with the Friends of the Reedy River Board.

Nikki has been a vital member of the Friends of the Reedy River (FoRR) board since 2007. During this time, FoRR made a challenging transition from having a paid executive director back to an all-volunteer board.

It was at this difficult point in 2013 that Nikki volunteered to serve as President; she then spent the next five years rebuilding FoRR’s board, strengthening their position as the “voice of the river”, and other achievements.

Under Nikki’s leadership FoRR made significant progress in river improvements. These include protecting the Reedy River Falls by preventing development of a five story office building alongside the bridge over the river at 55 Camperdown Way, paving the way for a permanent conservation easement.

In 2013 FoRR published a Reedy River Report Card to help the public better understand water quality challenges in a developed urban watershed. FoRR also worked with the Caine Halter YMCA and 1st Baptist Greenville, both properties adjacent to the “Woodland Way Corridor” and Swamp Rabbit Trail.

FoRR facilitated the building of natural features such as rain gardens at both sites to reduce stormwater runoff and worked with the YMCA on a campus-wide redesign to create outdoor spaces suitable for outdoor environmental education. FoRR also sponsors river clean-ups to build awareness to the issues facing the river and engages the public in its protection and restoration.

With a strong, re-energized board, Nikki was able to retire as president at the end of 2017, assured that with a new strategic plan and by-laws and a strong board and executive committee, FoRR will continue its leadership of protecting and restoring the Reedy River for generations.  

Nikki is a retired textile marketing executive and lives in Greenville with her husband Allen.

The Clean Water Champion award recognizes a business, organization, governmental entity, or individual who has made a significant contribution to water quality improvement or water resources management in the Upstate.

Tickets are on sale now for the luncheon, which will take place Feb. 19, 2019 at the Embassy Suites in Greenville. You can read about the other award recipients at our blog. For more information about this event, please contact Murray Dorn at murray@smoakpr.com.