NEWS RELEASE
Today’s Date: 11/21/17
Contact: Mary Lynne Beckley 470-210-5900
For immediate release
THE GEORGIA URBAN FOREST COUNCIL PRESENTS 27th ANNUAL GEORGIA URBAN FORESTRY AWARDS
The Georgia Urban Forest Council (GUFC), a nonprofit organization with the mission of sustaining Georgia’s green legacy by helping communities grow healthy trees, presented its 2017 Excellence in Urban Forestry Awards Program on November 8 at the Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Georgia. This annual awards program rewards individuals and organizations for outstanding work in protecting and enhancing our community forests. One Grand Award was given to each of the following categories: Marketing, Development, New Initiative, Civic Organization, Community, Education, Student, Urban Arboriculture, and Individual Achievement. Each award recipient received a framed print of a Griffin bald cypress from an original pen and ink drawing by artist Barry Nehr, commissioned for GUFC. The City of Suwanee Community Orchard at White Street Park received the 2017 Outstanding New Initiative Grand Award. “The City of Suwanee and their community volunteers, especially Roger and Brittany Grant, are to be commended for their vision in creating this orchard and all of the environmental, social, and health benefits it brings,” said Mary Lynne Beckley, Executive Director of the Georgia Urban Forest Council.
The Georgia Urban Forest Council was founded in 1988 by a group of individuals who recognized the need for an organization to address urban forestry issues in Georgia. Today, GUFC brings educational programs, leadership and resources in maintaining healthy trees to our towns and cities around the state. For more information on the Georgia Urban Forest Council please call 470-210-5900 or visit www.gufc.org.
PICTURED: (L-R) Derrick Catlett, President of the Georgia Urban Forest Council; Roger and Brittany Grant; and Paul Randler, Urban and Community Program Manager, Southern Region, U.S. Forest Service.
Georgia Urban Forest Council, Inc.
P.O. Box 2199
Stone Mountain, GA 30086
www.gufc.org
470-210-5900 (t)