the Nature Conservancy Welcomes New Board Members and Officers for 2011 - 2012

The Nature Conservancy’s Alabama Board of Trustees recently elected new members and officers for fiscal year 2012.

July 18, 2011

New trustees from Central Alabama include Stephanie Hill Alexander of Birmingham, associate administrator, Corporate Affairs and Communications Department at Honda Manufacturing of Alabama; Richard D. Holland of Livingston, president and professor of biological sciences at The University of West Alabama; John E. Steiner of Montgomery, executive vice-president and managing director of AlaTrust, Inc., and James Wadsworth of Clanton, president of Wadsworth Oil Company of Clanton, Inc. In addition, joining the board from Mobile are Arthur B. Forward, Forward Consulting and Patricia G. Edington, appraiser of antiques.

These 6 new members join current trustees Shapard D. Ashley, Charles Ball, Ben T. Barnett, Edward V. Colvin, David H. Drenning, Ann D. Florie, James W. Gewin, Braxton C. Goodrich, Kathryn D. Harbert, J. Milton Harris, Walter A. Hill, William R. Ireland, Jr., Cindy Martin, D.D. Martin, James “Jimbo” P. Meador, Sr., William W. Oppenheimer, B. Greer Radcliff, Beverley “Becky” H. Smith, William Terry, Samuel E. Upchurch, Jr., Cameron M. Vowell, J. Carter Wells and George E. Wilbanks.

Officers for 2011-2012 are Chairman Steve V. Graham of Birmingham, Graham & Company; Vice-Chair James W. Hodo of Selma, American Apparel; Treasurer Richard D. Horsley of Birmingham, Upchurch Investors; Secretary Elizabeth Downing of Mobile, community volunteer; and Past Chair Lynne Berry of Huntsville, The Community Foundation of Huntsville/Madison County.

Several members rotated off the board and were honored for their commitment and service. They were

David A. Donaldson, Sid McAnnally and Donald B. Sweeney, Jr., of Birmingham and Christopher S. Leigh of Montrose.

“The coming year brings challenges to our state and our organization and I look forward to working with a consortium of partners on land and water quality protection, hunting, fishing, tourism and economic development,” said Board Chairman Steve Graham. “Important to all Alabamians is the upcoming renewal of the Forever Wild Land Trust. Citizens of our state will have the opportunity to vote on renewal of this important land preservation program in November 2012.”

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. The Conservancy and its more than 1 million members have protected nearly 120 million acres worldwide. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.