The 2009 Voices of Conservation Luncheon
September 15, 2009
The Hilton Austin
500 E. 4th Street

Please join The Nature Conservancy of Texas at the 2009 Voices of Conservation Luncheon to celebrate nature and learn about the accomplishments and vision of the world's largest and most respected environmental conservation organization.

The natural features and ecosystems of our planet are interwoven, and conservation undertaken at home can have a global impact. From saving the vanishing Texas grasslands to keeping the rivers of the Hill Country flowing for generations to come, the Conservancy's work in Texas has far-reaching benefits for citizens of Texas, the United States, and the entire planet. For more than 50 years, The Nature Conservancy has been the world’s leader in achieving lasting, meaningful results through an approach grounded in science and pragmatic on-the-ground conservation.

The Voices of Conservation Luncheon will feature a keynote address by renowned photographer Joel Sartore of National Geographic Magazine and entertainment by famed Texas singer-songwriter Ray Wylie Hubbard.

A lifelo­ng Nebraskan, Joel Sartore brings a sense of humor and a Midwestern work ethic to all of his National Geographic Magazine assignments. In his 20-year career, he has covered everything from the remote Amazon rain forest to beer-drinking, mountain-racing firefighters in the United Kingdom.  

Besides being a contract photographer for National Geographic, Joel's work has appeared in Audubon, Life, Newsweek, Sports Illustrated, Time and numerous books, including the Day in the Life series. He has authored or co-authored four acclaimed books on photography, including The Company We Keep: America’s Endangered Species.

Joel and his work have been the subject of several national broadcasts, including National Geographic’s Explorer, the NBC Nightly News, NPR’s Weekend Edition and CBS Sunday Morning, as well as an hour-long PBS documentary. In addition to his editorial work, Joel speaks to groups around the nation about wildlife, photography, and other issues. Though often traveling around the world for work, he always looks forward to returning to his home – and family – in Nebraska.

Since first storming the music scene in the early 1970s, Ray Wylie Hubbard has come to epitomize the very definition of a Texas Troubadour. Armed with a quiver full of classic songs like "Up Against the Wall, Redneck Mother," "Choctaw Bingo" and "The Messenger," Ray Wylie has taken his original brand of Outlaw Country music to people across America. Rolling Stone Magazine calls his work "alternatively dark and funny but always human...crowded with the ghosts of his past and the cautious musings of a reformed outlaw."

The luncheon will once again be emceed by ardent conservation supporter Kirk Watson. The mayor of Austin from 1997 to 2001, Kirk Watson currently serves as the Texas State Senator from District 11.

We hope to see you at the 2009 Voices of Conservation Luncheon and hope you will join our more than 1 million supporters who are helping the Conservancy lead the way to protect our one and only home.

  















 

Nature picture credits (top to bottom, left to right): Photo © Lynn McBride (Barton Creek Habitat Preserve); Photo © NASA (Earth seen from space); Photo © Joel Sartore (Joel Sartore); Photo © Steve Terrell/FlickrCC (Ray Wylie Hubbard);