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2010 Henry Meigs Leadership Award Recipients
The Schuylkill Center is pleased to name William Walkup as the recipient of the 2010 Henry Meigs Leadership Award.
A letter from William Walkup
One day in the mid seventies, probably 1975, a flier came to my office promoting a course in the environment for business people, given by a group calling itself The Schuylkill Valley Nature Center, a new name to me and others in my office. The subject was energy, air and water quality, and other features of the environment. Since they were located in Roxborough, and I was the local division manager of a major energy utility, I though it might be wise to see what they were going to say about the subject, so I enrolled in the course.
And that was the beginning of a long association. Dick James was the teacher, the class was small, and I ended up testing landfill leachate, counting pond creatures and other denizens, and became totally impressed with what was taking place. We followed with a corporate membership for the modest sum of $500, and the company has been an ardent supporter of The Center ever since.
Later, but I’m not sure just when, Dick James, in a weak moment, invited me to become a member of the board. I recall few details of those first years, but some stand out. There were kids and school buses in great numbers, highly talented teachers and interns, lengthy sessions regarding development of surrounding land, development and nation-wide distribution of environmental education curricula, heated debate over changing the name to something more descriptive of our mission, great annual members’ meetings, and, above all, association with many people I’ve felt really privileged to know.
In 1983, Dick and a couple of board members asked me to be on the slate for Board Chair, and served for 3 ½ years. Although I finally decided last year that my welcome was surely worn out by then, and decided to retire from the Board, The Center remains an important part of my life.
W.G.W. April 7, 2010
Previous Awardees 2008 Project T.R.E.N.D. (Teaching Response to ENvironmental Demands) 2007 Cindy and John Affleck
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