PEA Announces Green Business of The Year and Volunteer of The Year.

Piedmont Environmental Alliance held their annual meeting and collaborative environmental night with Temple Emanuel Environmental Movement (TEEM) and The Foothills Group of the Sierra Club on November 10th. Various organizations and individuals that support environmental sustainability enjoyed an evening of stimulating conversations and an informative movie provided by TEEM.

PEA awarded Habitat for Humanity of Forsyth County the Green Business of The Year.  Habitat for Humanity of Forsyth County have been building energy star homes since 2001, and for the past 6 years all of the homes have been Energy Star Certified meaning that they use significantly less energy than most other new homes of similar size.  Habitat has also renovated a number of homes in the past year using energy conservation principles.  In addition, Habitat now has an advanced environmentally friendly home under construction.  They are trying new construction materials and methods to see which can be incorporated in the regular housing stock to make them even healthier and more energy efficient.  Habitat of Forsyth also operates a ReStore which diverts construction and household materials from landfills protecting the environment, while also further funding their projects. 

PEA also announced the PEA Volunteer of The Year is Darren Schwartz.  Darren is the Assistant Manager and Community Relations Director at Great Outdoor Provision Company in Winston-Salem. Darren has been instrumental as the Entertainment Coordinator and emcee for the Piedmont Earth Day Fair for the past two years and is serving in that role again for the 2012 Fair.  “Darren is volunteer of the year not just because of his long-term service in a leadership role for the Fair but also because he is the ideal volunteer. Darren has taken complete ownership of the Entertainment section. The Fair leaders know that Darren will schedule outstanding acts to entertain Fair visitors, will ensure that all runs smoothly, will stay within budget, and will communicate effectively during the process”  States Terri LeGrand, President of PEA’s Board of Directors.

For more informtion on the event click here.