The Orange County Land Trust will honor its 2009 Leaders in Land Preservation at this year’s Annual Benefit Dinner and Silent Auction on Friday, June 5 on the grounds of the historic Glenmere Mansion in the Town of Chester.
Each year, the Orange County Land Trust Board of Directors chooses to honor individuals or organizations that have displayed an unparalleled commitment to the preservation and conservation of land in Orange County. This year the Land Trust will honor Carol Ash, New York State Commissioner of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation for her vital advocacy role in protecting open space and adding to Sterling Forest State Park; Paul Dolan, Executive Director, ABC News International and JoAnn Dolan, former Executive Director of New York-New Jersey Trail Conference, for their pioneering and continuing efforts in the protection of Sterling Forest State Park and Arrow Park; and the County of Orange - Office of the County Executive, Orange County Legislature, Orange County Department of Planning and Office of the County Attorney - for their commitment to the protection of the county’s natural areas, working farmland and water resources.
The theme of this year’s Annual Benefit Dinner and Silent Auction is ”Celebrating the Preservation of Orange County’s Natural and Historic Treasures”. This elegant evening affair is supported by the generous contributions of this year’s Benefit Committee, headed by Benefit Chair and Land Champion James H. Ottaway, Jr. Corporate and community sponsorships are still available and benefit committee members receive premier seating, journal and website advertising opportunities, and an exclusive champagne tour of the restoration work in progress at Glenmere Mansion.
Lead Business and Community Sponsors for the 2009 Annual Benefit Dinner and Silent Auction are:
Glenmere
Gusciora Construction
The Walt Disney Company
DeGraw & DeHaan, Architects, LLP
First Federal Savings of Middletown
Other important corporate and community sponsors for this event are:
Arrow Park, Inc.
Bank of America
Blue Spruce Construction Corp.
C.R. Wolfe Heating
Dayne Losee, Inc.
DJM Enterprises
Earth and Sun Energy Systems, Inc.
Esposito & Associates
Faith Ferguson Productions, Inc.
Gerard Associates
Ira Wickes Arborists
J.M. Electric & Son, Inc.
Jacobowitz & Gubits, LLP
Mid-Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union
Morgan Wheelock, Inc., Landscape Architects
N.A.S. Security Systems
Pietrzak & Pfau Engineering & Surveying, PLLC
Precision Roofing
R.J. Smith Realty
S.E.T. Designs, Inc.
Turner Miller Group
Voss Excavating
Individual tickets are $125 per person and are available by calling the Orange County Land Trust at (845) 343-0840, x12 or by ordering online at www.oclt.org.
Glenmere was built in 1911 as a country manor for American industrialist and real estate scion Robert Goelet, a prominent member of New York society and heir to an immense family fortune. Drawn to the area through his enthusiasm for harness racing, Glenmere was Goelet’s country retreat- a place to hunt, fish, race horses, and breed championship Labradors, as well as to entertain members of New York’s elite with familiar last names such as Harriman and Vanderbilt. The 35-room mansion, overlooking Glenmere Lake, was designed by Carrere and Hastings, designers of the New York Public Library and the House and Senate office buildings. The mansion is modeled after a Tuscan villa and includes a center courtyard, marble columns, marble mantels, hand plastered moldings, hand painted murals, statuary and a classically inspired sunken Italian garden designed by America’s first female landscape architect, Beatrix Farrand. Glenmere is currently undergoing extensive renovations to preserve its historical significance and will open as a 19-suite boutique hotel, restaurant and spa in autumn of this year.
The mission of the Orange County Land Trust is to preserve the fields, forests, wetlands, ridgelines and river corridors in and around Orange County through voluntary land conservation for the benefit of the people. To date, the nonprofit Land Trust has protected over 3,600 acres of biologically sensitive and scenically important land as well as working farmland. For more information and volunteer opportunities please visit our website at www.oclt.org.
