Priestley Receives the Lifetime Achievement Award from TDEC
Thursday, July 12, 2018
The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) recognized two individuals and four entities at the Governor’s Environmental Stewardship Awards held at the Franklin Marriott Cool Springs hotel. The annual ceremony also honored nine entities announced in May for their environmental achievements.
“These awards highlight what’s being done in Tennessee to preserve our natural resources, protect public health and the environment, and enhance our quality of life,” said Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam. “I applaud all of the 2018 winners for their continued work to make their respective industries and passions more sustainable.”
Larry W. Moore, of the University of Memphis, and Mary Priestley, a volunteer at South Cumberland State Park, were both presented with the Robert Sparks Walker Lifetime Achievement Award. Four organizations received the Pursuit of Excellence Award: Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC, Warren Plant; the Electric Power Board of Chattanooga; Memphis Light, Gas and Water; and Sevier Solid Waste, Inc. The Pursuit of Excellence category is reserved for past award winners who have continued to take exemplary environmental actions.
Priestly has spent the majority of her life in the mountains near South Cumberland State Park. For more than 20 years, Priestly has supported the park as a volunteer and most recently, as director of the Friends group and chair of the Education and Outreach Committee. She recently worked to obtain funds to expand the park’s resources for outdoor youth education, including the transformation of the park’s visitors center into a hands-on museum.
She currently serves as an Associate Curator of the Sewanee Herbarium at the University of the South, where she has been for more than 20 years.
For more information about the awards, go to https://www.tn.gov