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The "GEO" Annual Awards for 2009 were presented to recipients at the GEO 10th Anniversary Banquet at the GE0 10th Annual Meeting event at 6:00 - 7:30 pm, Saturday, May 15, 2010 at the Nationwide & Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center, The Ohio State University, 2201 Fred Taylor Drive, Columbus, Ohio 43210. See Banquet presentation: GEO Celebrates 10 Years by Bill Spratley [CLICK HERE]. See previous GEO Award recipients 2001-2009 below the 2009 Awards.
GEO Awards for 2009
Pioneer of the Year 2009
Ralph Dull came to the 2002 GEO’s first Ohio Wind Power Conference and soon thereafter decided to install six 10 kW wind turbines. He hosted a GEO wind energy workshop at his Brookville, Ohio farm in 2005 and has participated in other public outreach events since then. Ralph’s wind machines attracted so much interest on the old National Road (Rt. 50) northwest of Dayton, that he built the Future Energy and Conservation Center on his farm near the wind turbines. GEO and other exhibits are part of this unique Ohio green energy visitors center which hosts regular meetings of GEOs and clean energy enthusiasts. In 2009 Ralph added solar power to the location. The Ralph Dull Homestead has been on the GEO Ohio Solar Tour since 2004 or 6 of the last 7 years. In December 2009, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Stewardship Award also recognized the Dull Homestead, an incorporated family farm operation, with a large-scale swine and seed grain operation on more than 2,800 acres. More than 1,100 acres of the land owned by the company is under either conservation or agriculture easements. The Dull Homestead uses all of its swine manure to fertilize cropland and raises much of its own corn for feeding, supplementing feed with dried distiller’s grain from an ethanol plant nearby in Greenville. Ohio EPA also recognized the farm’s use of wind turbines and the development of a future energy center.
Public Official of the Year 2009
Mark Shanahan serves as Energy Advisor to Governor Ted Strickland and since 1989 as Executive Director of the Ohio Air Quality Development Authority (OAQDA). Spearheading the Administration’s energy efficiency efforts at state facilities and advocating enactment of the landmark 2008 Advanced Energy law (SB 221), Mark and his team have implemented state and new federal green energy laws and initiatives. He has frequently spoken at GEO events and provided advice and counsel to citizens and green energy businesses. On January 17, 2007, Governor Ted Strickland created the position of Governor’s Energy Advisor through Executive Order 2007-02 and appointed Mark Shanahan to the position. In that role, he is responsible for coordinating state agencies’ efforts to develop a comprehensive Ohio energy policy and to implement the Governor’s order to significantly reduce state agency energy consumption. As OAQDA Executive Director, Mark oversees the management of more than $1.6 billion in outstanding bond issues as well as the Authority’s research and special project programs.
Non-Profit of the Year 2009 - Ohio Interfaith Power & Light
Ohio Interfaith Power & Light (OhIP&L) provided “Cool Congregations” workshops at the 2009 GEO Regional Workshops providing hands-on training in energy efficiency for members of faith communities, including calculating a congregation’s carbon footprint, using energy audits to interpret, prioritize and implement energy saving measures and improvements. Co-founded by GEO Board Member Sister Paula Gonzalez and GEO Member Keith Mills at a meeting during SOLAR 2007 in Cleveland, OhIP&L continues to grow across Ohio with the mission to empower a religious response to climate change and to promote energy conservation, energy efficiency, and renewable energy. An affiliate of The Regeneration Project’s Interfaith Power & Light campaign, OhIP&L led in 2009 by Greg Hitzhusen also includes numerous GEO members focused on tangible results in religious communities to put their faith into action.
Ohio Business of the Year 2009 - Ohio Magazine
Ohio Magazine published GEO’s 2009 Ohio Solar Tour as a special section in its September 2009 edition, reaching 275,000 readers statewide – the largest media exposure ever for this statewide event. Ohio Magazine, a product of Great Lakes Publishing, is a monthly magazine that explores the beauty, the adventure and the fun of life in the Buckeye State. The magazine is geared toward readers in and outside Ohio who share a deeply rooted interest in Ohio's rich history and culture. The September 2009 GEO Ohio Solar Tour Preview also published the Ohio Magazine Solar Tour feature.
Clean Energy Community of the Year 2009
– Ohio Community Colleges
Ohio Community Colleges acted as the Green Energy Educational Community of the Year to provide of renewable energy and energy efficiency training programs highlighted in the Ohio Green Pathways edition of the GEO News Magazine in December 2009.
In 2009 GEO partnered with five Ohio Community Colleges to provide Regional Workshops on Green Energy & Green Jobs attended by 1,200 Ohioans featuring 177 expert speakers and 89 tradeshow exhibitors. Four of these colleges worked with GEO to train 86 individuals in workforce training and installation of solar thermal systems. This collaboration led GEO to become the Local Partner for the Midwest Solar Solar Training Network, a seven state “train the solar trainer” grant of the U.S. Dept. of Energy to provide solar training for community college and other instructors.
Recognized for their commitment to green energy educational excellence in 2009 are these leading institutions in the Ohio Community Colleges network:
Cincinnati State Technical & Community College, Cincinnati, Ohio
Columbus State Community College, Columbus, Ohio
Cuyahoga Community College, Cleveland, Ohio
Hocking College Energy Institute, Logan, Ohio
Owens Community College, Perrysburg, Ohio
GEO Volunteers of the Year 2009 - by Region of Ohio
Central: Jerry Leard, Columbus, volunteered for innumerable hours of tireless work in 2009 Central Ohio GEO activities, including Clean Energy Network Meetings, Regional Workshops across Ohio and the Central Ohio Solar Tour. Jerry is an active participant in legislative and regulatory hearings and events at the Statehouse, regulatory agencies and community group events. A life-long Columbus resident, Jerry has worked in his family construction business.
Southwest: Siobhan Prichard, Cincinnati, led GEO first-ever silent auction at the 2009 GEO Annual Meeting in Cincinnati. This successful event reflected her dedicated volunteer efforts in assisting GEO in the Cincinnati area. She also helped GEO as a volunteer at the 2009 GEO Regional Workshop. In 2009, Siobhan left her position in commercial lending to work for Dovetail Solar & Wind in the Southwest Ohio region.
Northeast: Kelle SantaMaria, Mayfield Heights,has actively volunteered for GEO since SOLAR 2007 in Cleveland by participating in the NE Ohio Solar Tours, Regional Workshops and Clean Energy Network Meetings. Her enthusiasm for informing Ohioans about green energy helps GEO interest consumers and business to consider adopting new technologies. Kelle is a Certified Commercial Investment Member at Chiccola Realty in Mayfield Heights, Ohio.
Northwest: Joe Perlaky, Oregon,introduced GEO to Palmer Energy where in 2009 GEO members could elect to participate in a new membership benefit program which also serves as a source of non-profit revenue to the organization. Joe has assisted GEO over the past six years in the NW Ohio Solar Tour, Regional Workshops, Clean Energy Network, Ohio Wind Working Group Meetings and participated on GEO’s behalf in numerous other NW Ohio events. He is the Executive Director of the Maumee Valley Growers Association and past program manager for the University of Toledo's Alternative Energy Technologies grant. Since 2007, Joe Perlaky has served as Vice President of the GEO Board of Directors. Joe also has volunteered video and audio work for GEO from his Ohio based company Bayshore Productions LLC, a niche provider of short musical vignettes (musical clips) used in TV and film production.
Southeast: Geoff Greenfield, Athens, is a long-time supporter of GEO as an enthusiastic volunteer at workshops and activities. Assisting GEO with the state’s first solar electric (PV) installer trainings in 2002, Geoff became one of the state’s first NABCEP (North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners) certified solar installers in 2003. Geoff helped grow the Ohio Solar Tour in the Southeast and across Ohio the past 7 years. His volunteer assistance and advice to GEO flows from his role as President of Third Sun Solar & Wind Power based in Athens, Ohio among the oldest renewable energy firms in Ohio. He and his family live in a home powered by solar and wind power in Athens County.
GEO Annual Awards 2001-2009:
GEO Pioneer of the Year Awards
2001: Robert Howard Family
2002: GEO Wind Committee
2003: Daryl Stockburger
2004: GEO Green Team for the Ohio Governor's Residence
2005: Al Compaan
2006: City of Cleveland Sustainability Program
2007: Cleveland Indians
2008: Governor Ted Strickland
2009: Ralph Dull
Ohio Clean Energy Community of the Year Awards
2004: The Bowling Green & Wood County Community
2005: City of Cuyahoga Falls
2006: City of Oberlin / Oberlin College
2007: City of Cleveland & Cuyahoga County
2008: City of Cincinnati / Cincinnati Technical &
Community College / Duke Energy /
University of Cincinnati
2009: Green Energy Educational Community of the Year: Ohio Community Colleges
Cincinnati State Technical & Community College, Cincinnati, Ohio
Columbus State Community College, Columbus, Ohio
Cuyahoga Community College, Cleveland, Ohio
Hocking College Energy Institute, Logan, Ohio
Owens Community College, Perrysburg, Ohio
GEO Nonprofit Group of the Year Awards
2001: Foundation for Environmental Education
2002: Columbus-Franklin County Metro Parks
2003: American Municipal Power of Ohio
2004: Northwest Ohio Partnership for Alternative Energy Systems
2005: The George Gund Foundation & The Cleveland Foundation
2006: Entrepreneurs for Sustainability
2007: Great Lakes Science Center
2008: The Sierra Club
2009: Ohio Interfaith Power & Light
GEO Public Official of the Year Awards
2001: Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council, Mayor of Eastlake
2002: Tom Maves, Renewable Energy Specialist, Ohio Office of Energy, Efficiency,
Ohio Dept. of Development
2003: Andy Boatright, Utility Manager, City of Westerville
2004: Governor & Mrs. Bob Taft
2005: Peter Dreyfuss, Midwest Office Director, U.S. Department of Energy
2006: U.S. Representative Marcy Kaptur
2007: Sara Ward, former Chief, Ohio Energy Office, Ohio Dept. of Development
2008: Ohio Senator Jon Husted
2009: Mark R. Shanahan
GEO Business of the Year Awards
2001: Green Mountain Energy Company
2002: Vanner Inc.
2003: First Solar
2004: Doty & Miller Architects
2005: Decker Homes
2006: Convention & Vistiors Bureau of Greater Cleveland
2007: Duke Energy
2008: Melink Corporation
2009: Ohio Magazine
GEO Volunteer of Year Awards
2001: Ryan Sullivan
2002: Rhonda Gatzke
2003: Sherry Hubbard
2004: Chris Chmiel, James Groeber, Geoff Rich
2005: Bob Weinberg, AAron Godwin
2006: Jerry Leard, Ruth Vandersall
2007: Scotte Elliott
2008: Joe Peschel, Donny Davis, Jerry Leard, Matt Bennett, Al Lindeman
2009: Joe Perlaky, Kelle SantaMaria, Jerry Leard, Geoff Greenfield, Siobhan Pritchard
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