Archive Post from April 2015
From the Land Trust Alliance
PROVIDENCE, RI -- Gates Mills Land Conservancy, an Ohio land trust, received the prestigious National Land Trust Excellence Award from the Land Trust Alliance during its annual conference in Providence, Rhode Island.
The award, presented Sept. 18 during the welcoming dinner of Rally 2014: The National Land Conservation Conference, celebrates the dedication and passion of Gates Mills Land Conservancy. It also honors the efforts of this all-volunteer organization in broadening support for land conservation, showing initiative in collaborating with others, and creating innovative communications, education and outreach solutions.
Thomas A. Quintrell, Gates Mills Land Conservancy’s vice president, accepted the award and described it as “a distinct honor.”
“We are very proud of the fact that we are an all-volunteer board,” he said. “Fifteen villagers of diverse backgrounds, united by a common interest in protecting the natural beauty of our village, volunteer to serve on the board. The board, in collaboration with villagers, identifies and acquires properties and then ensures diligent stewardship and defense of those preserved properties in perpetuity.”
The conservancy was an initial member of the Coalition of Ohio Land Trusts. Through its efforts, the conservancy achieved accreditation in 2013 from the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, an independent program of the Land Trust Alliance, becoming the third land trust and the first all-volunteer organization in Ohio to be accredited.
The Land Trust Alliance, a national land conservation organization that works to save the places people love by strengthening land conservation across America, awards one or more National Land Trust Excellence Awards annually to land trusts that have achieved significant impact on the conservation community. Two such awards were presented this year.
Rally 2014 is the nation’s premier gathering for conservation leadership and training, featuring more than 100 workshops and over a dozen seminars. For more information about Rally 2014, visit www.lta.org/rally.
About the Gates Mills Land Conservancy
The Gates Mills Land Conservancy is a private, nonprofit, tax-exempt membership organization whose mission is to preserve the unique nature of the open space in the Village of Gates Mills, Ohio. The land conservancy operates as an effective and vibrant volunteer organization, designed and chartered to preserve open land through outright purchase of land or through the issuance of a conservation easement or a deed restriction. More information is available at www.gatesmillslandconservancy.org.
About the Land Trust Alliance
Founded in 1982, the Land Trust Alliance is a national land conservation organization that works to save the places people love by strengthening land conservation across America. The Alliance represents 1,200 member land trusts supported by more than 100,000 volunteers and 5 million members nationwide. The Alliance is based in Washington, D.C. and operates several regional offices.