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BODIE FOUNDATION RECEIVES ANDREA LAWRENCE AWARD
In April, the Bodie Foundation was given a great honor. The Andrea Lawrence Award, given annually by the Mono Lake Committee, which administers the Andrea Lawrence Fund, recognizes individuals and groups for outstanding service. The text of this award reads as follows:
… Celebrating passionate engagement in community and the land is awarded to the
Bodie Foundation
In recognition of its dedication in supporting State Parks and its commitment to overcoming California’s budget woes with creative solutions to keep Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve open and operating.
I was honored to receive this award on behalf of the Bodie Foundation. It was a special honor for me, having had the pleasure of knowing and working with Andrea since the late 1980’s.
Andrea was a Gold Medallist in the 1952 Olympics, downhill skiing. I knew her more for her work with State Parks in the late 1980’s and into the late 1990’s. She went on to become a Supervisor in Mono County and staunchly supported and defended Bodie and other Eastern Sierra preservation goals. She supported the Desert Protection Act, which included the Bodie Protection Act. The result of these “acts” resulted in California State Parks acquiring 317 acres of private property on Bodie Bluff along with 60% of the mineral rights. In the long run this will protect the Bodie Historic Mining District.
In recognition of the very important role she played in protecting Bodie and Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve, she was awarded the title of Honorary State Park Ranger. Along with this came the opportunity to don the coveted Ranger Stetson. The California State Park Rangers Association gave the award. Andrea Lawrence passed away in 2009, but the non-profit she started continues to support causes that were important to her.
A close friend of Andrea’s, Nancy Whitmore, started an organization called Eastern Sierra Citizens for the Protection of Bodie. This organization and Andrea were our local support during the controversies and challenges we faced in preserving and protecting Bodie.
I mentioned above that I was honored, but it goes a bit deeper than that. I was also stunned and humbled by how the Bodie Foundation has been received and viewed in the community.
A special thank you to the Mono Lake Committee, those who were in attendance that evening, the Board of Trustees, our special friendship with California State Park, and to those of you who have supported the Bodie Foundation in the few short years we have been in business of helping to keep our State Parks “open and operating.”
This award will be on display at the annual Friends of Bodie Event on August 11, 2012. Hope to see you there.
Thank you,
J. Brad Sturdivant
President, Bodie Foundation
