And The Winners Are!
GLEE Honors Locals for Greening Up
Florida Keys Green Living & Energy Education (GLEE) announced its 1st Annual Green Living Award winners in a ceremony hosted by Tranquility Bay Beach Resort and sponsored by Marine Bank on Friday, May 9. The awards, which highlight progressive steps toward sustainability taken by local citizens, businesses, organizations and policy makers, were presented on two fronts: One category was selected by “Popular Vote” through public online voting on the www.keysGLEE.com website, and the second was selected by the GLEE’s Board, serving as a “Green Ribbon Committee,” and taking into consideration many factors, including living it, advocating for it, well roundedness, and longevity of green practices.
In the online competition, all website visitors were allowed one vote for each category. Over 7,000 votes were cast in a very spirited competition that brought more than 10,000 hits to the GLEE website. Heralded as GLEE’s outreach ambassadors, winners in the “Popular Vote” category include:
Award winners selected by the organization’s "Green Ribbon Committee" include:
During the ceremony, GLEE President Alison Higgins also honored the 2007 green initiatives made by U.S. Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) and State Representative Ron Saunders (D-Key West), both of whom attended the event. Governor Charlie Crist was also honored but could not attend.
The goal of the Green Living Awards is to promote existing Keys’ green initiatives, educate about what's possible on a local level, identify local green leaders and promote pride and spirit in our islands.