2009 Art Manley Environmentalist Award recipient is Wes Hanson.

   On January 29th, KEA held the 2010 Annual Meeting of Membership welcoming members and friends.  This meeting was held at The Art Spirit Gallery in downtown Coeur d'Alene, and was attended by over 120 people. 

   As part of our tradition, KEA honors a community person in the spirit of Art Manley, in recognition of sustained, effective support for the environment of the Coeur d'Alene Basin and Idaho Panhandle.

   Art Manley, who passed away in 2003, was one of the founders of the KEA and was the first recipient of this award named in his honor. Art Manley is still considered by many to be the premier environmentalist in Idaho, providing inspiration to all of us who strive to follow in his footsteps.  This year's recipient is:

Wesley R. Hanson

Click on photo to view a slideshow from the event!

    A Board member of Kootenai Environmental Alliance, Wes Hanson is recognized as a principled, visionary advocate for both conservation of natural and scenic resources, and conservation of our community.  For more than seven years, Wes fought alongside fellow citizens and neighbors from the Rural Kootenai Organization to defend his beloved Cougar Bay from development threats. His vision for land conservation starts at home, as Wes and his late wife Gertie have inspired many others to conserve treasured lands, as Wes did with the Carder family farm through a conservation easement.
    In the last several years, Wes has been determined to see the successful conclusion to the process of re-writing Kootenai County’s comprehensive plan.  Attending dozens and dozens of workshops, hearings, meetings and deliberations, Wes has provided extraordinarily valuable input which has been both visionary and practical. Although the comprehensive plan process is not yet complete, Wes’s influence will be felt throughout the County for years to come. 

    Our friends and colleagues in conservation agree.  Local attorney Scott Reed says, "Wes Hanson has environmental vision beyond anyone I know. At the same time his feet are firmly on his property that he and his wife, Gertie, dedicated to be preserved as open space forever."   

     Denise Clark, from Rural Kootenai Organization calls Wes “committed and persuasive when North Idaho’s environment is placed in jeopardy.”

    Chris DeForest, from the Inland Northwest Land Trust, calls Wes “one of the most dogged, principled, effective advocates for saving the best of the Inland Northwest,” and says, “Wes has an awesome, gentle power and richly deserves the recognition of KEA and the Art Manley award.”

    Our congratulations go out to our very own, Wes Hanson!

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    Another KEA tradition held at our Annual Meeting is the President's Awards, recognition of members for their outstanding contributions to our community during the year.  The 2009 recipients are:

Kim & Mike Normand for garden and community-building at the Shared Harvest Community Garden

     The vacant, derelict lots around the corner from the Normands’ Coeur d'Alene home are now a beautiful community garden and excellent demonstration of how a community can work together. Shared Harvest Community Garden is the city’s first community garden and will almost certainly be a model for others throughout the region. Kim and Mike Normand’s passion and hard work brought the neighborhood together around the vision and turned it into a beautiful reality and accomplished an astounding amount in one short season. The partnership the Normands fostered with KEA, the property owner, the City of Coeur d’Alene, and the Garden District is an outstanding model for success.

Lynn Morris for advocating for community-oriented land use

     Lynn Morris has been a consistent advocate for community interests a range of land use planning issues in Kootenai County and City of Coeur d'Alene. She has been part of the League of Women Voters’ watchful monitoring of the County’s Comprehensive Plan revision process, and she is active in her neighborhood on issues close to home.  She has consistently provided thoughtful and important perspectives and is a respected voice at the wide range of public hearings and meetings and workshops associated with land use issues.  Lynn has also been a gracious advisor and promoter for KEA and we appreciate her support.

Cecil Hathaway, an advocate for Hayden Lake

     Although not one to flaunt his credentials, Cecil Hathaway is a licensed transportation engineer and a former full professor at the University of Idaho in transportation engineering and highway design.  He was a Commissioner of the highway district for the City of Moscow, and was UI’s director of engineering outreach. Since moving to Kootenai County, he has dedicated his talents to protecting the environment and quality of life in the County, particularly around Hayden Lake.  He is currently serving on the Board of the Hayden Lake Watershed Association. He is knowledgeable, reliable, well-credentialed, with great integrity, and a tireless ally for the environment. 

DOMA Coffee Roasting Co. for their commitment to sustainability and to KEA

DOMA Coffee has been a business member of KEA for several years.  Rebecca and Terry Patano, along with the entire DOMA crew, are dedicated to buying organic and fair trade coffees, they roast their delicious coffee blends by the most energy efficient means available, and they continually promote best “green business” practices.  DOMA is committed to community efforts and to the success of KEA. In a unique and successful arrangement, DOMA made a 10% contribution to KEA from proceeds of DOMA coffee sales at Pilgrims Market.  The DOMA crew was also instrumental in the success of our fun fall “Junk2Funk” fashion show.

Angela Earnhart in honor of her service and dedication to KEA's Community Roots Program

     Angela’s interest in community service and local food sustainability made her a great fit with The Community Roots Program where she took over a primary distribution route delivering produce from the Saturday Farmer’s Market to soup kitchens, women's shelters, and transitional homes. As the first to volunteer to plant seeds at the Community Roots plot and often one of the last volunteers to leave the garden at sun down on produce donation days, Angela's dedication and dependability are what made last year's produce distributions such a success. Angela now sits on the Community Roots Steering Committee where she serves an important role in guiding the program into the future.

MANY THANKS! 

We look forward to an incredible 2010!