OEC Honors Bud Talbott with Lifetime Achievement Award
Bud Talbott is presented the OEC's Lifetime Achievement Award for a lifetime of work as a leader of Ohio environmental-conservation efforts (third from left). Pictured with students from West Geauga Middle School in Chester Township who won the Sarah J. Mielke Youth & Education Award for their Project WET (Wetlands Education Team) dedicated to saving Ohio's wetlands.
More than 450 people from across Ohio came to the Ohio Environmental Council's 40th anniversary celebration in November. The highlight of the evening was the presentation of the 2009 Environmental Achievement Awards. Nelson "Bud" Talbott, who was presented with OEC's Lifetime Achievement Award, started the awards off with a short and funny acceptance speech, telling the audience that just because he was being given this award, "he wasn't going to go away." In fact, he said, "he was just getting started."
Bud Talbott, from Cleveland, is certainly deserving of this award. A philanthropist for natural resource conservation, he has personally funded the acquisition and permanent protection of literally thousands of acres of wetlands, prairies and forest in Ohio. As an early and vigorous advocate of climate change legislation, Talbott has virtually talked with every member of Ohio's congressional delegation about this urgent crisis. He is a tireless environmental educator and founding member of the Ohio League of Conservation Voters.
For more than 40 years, Talbott has been doing right by the natural world—giving selflessly of his talent, and his treasure. In fact, he has been giving back to Mother Nature for a lifetime. Ohio and America and, indeed, all of planet Earth are so much better because of him.