Sarasota residents encouraged to attend June 25 event, which will be in Bradenton
Peter van Roekens of Siesta Key, chair of Save Our Siesta Sand 2 (SOSS2), will offer a short commentary on the Lido Key Renourishment Project during the Florida Wildlife Federation’s 79th Annual Conservation Awards Banquet, which will be held on Saturday, June 25, at the Courtyard Marriott Riverfront Hotel in Bradenton, SOSS2 has announced.
The organization has been trying to educate the public about its opposition to the $19-million City of Sarasota/U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ proposal to dredge 775,000 cubic yards of sand from Big Sarasota Pass to renourish Lido Key in the first undertaking of a 50-year-long plan to stabilize Lido’s beach.
- S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-FL, will be the guest speaker for the banquet, the Federation says in a news release. He also will be honored as an inductee into the Federation’s Conservation Hall of Fame, the release adds.
Among the Federation’s other 2016 award winners are Carissa Kent, who spearheads gopher tortoise protection; Paula Dockery, a conservation columnist; and the Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program, the news release notes.
Tickets are $65 per person. The event will begin at 5:30 p.m. with a reception, silent auction and art exhibit by Peter R. Gerbert, followed at 7 p.m. by dinner and the awards ceremony, the release says.
To order tickets online, visit www.FWFawards2016.eventbrite.com or use the order form here to pay by check or credit card. Anyone who downloads and fills out the order form should mail it to Diane Hines, FWF, PO Box 6870, Tallahassee, FL 32314-6870. People also may order tickets by calling 850-656-7113, the release notes, advising that they should place their orders no later than June 15.
Anyone with questions may email Hines at dhines@fwfonline.org or call 850-656-7113.