CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio — The 77th annual Summit Soil and Water Conservation District meeting and election for the Board of Supervisors took place on Sept. 21, at Sarah’s Vineyard in Cuyahoga Falls. The event featured highlights of progress and programs as well as awards presented by Catherine Perrow, Secretary of Summit SWCD’s Supervisory Board.
The Urban Conservation of the Year Award was given to two county organizations, the Summit County Executive Office and the Summit County Engineer’s Office. Both organizations banded together to establish a “Surface Water Management District” to solve the water quality and flooding problems in Summit County Townships and two villages. Greta Johnson accepted the award for Ilene Shapiro of the Summit County Executive’s Office, and Alan Brubaker accepted for the Summit County Engineer’s Office.
The Conservation Partner of the Year Award was awarded to Cheryl Luck from the Portage Lakes Branch Library for featuring watershed education and outreach activities with a special library corner and speaker presentation. She also provided library resource materials with a water quality theme.
The meeting also recognized volunteers for their commitment to monthly stream sampling of 20 district watershed sites. This sampling and data collection will assist the district in observing trends and changes in the water quality in the watershed.
The AmeriCorps service recognition was given to Claire Hardi who contributed to the district’s education and watershed programs this year.
Summit SWCD Recognitions were mentioned for Michael Rorar and Dan Ross. Rorar, current district chair, and Dan Ross, current treasurer, were both lauded for their dedicated service. Both have chosen not to run again and will serve through December.
