On Friday, November 7th, several hundred North Coast community members celebrated 37 years of forest and wildlife protection with EPIC at their annual Fall Celebration. The staff and board of EPIC would like to thank all of the community members, volunteers and businesses that made it possible to throw an incredibly entertaining and successful event!
A HUGE thank you to Chef Luke Patterson, owner of The Other Place for designing and coordinating the Farm to Table Dinner. Friends and neighbors shared an exceptionally prepared and locally sourced feast, much of which was donated by Humboldt County farmers, while listening to the musical stylings of singer-songwriter Joannne Rand. Dave Bergin owner of Bergin-Siplia Winery and Lina Carro owner of Violet-Green Winery provided an amazing selection of wines to complement the evening’s dinner offerings.
David and Ellen Drell, founders of the Willits Environmental Center, received EPIC’s 2014 Sempervirens Award to honor their lifetime achievement in environmental activism. The Drells are best known for their efforts opposing Caltrans’ Willits Bypass, they are also lifelong forest protectors and wilderness advocates who successfully campaigned to add more than 140,000 acres of forest into the Federal Wilderness System. David and Ellen are an inspiration to us at EPIC for their commitment to the community, and to each other—thank you for all of you do for the planet!
Thank you to the Bay Area’s HOUSE OF FLOYD who rocked the house with an elaborate concert and laser show that immersed the audience in the atmospheric authenticity of light and sound of the original Pink Floyd. Thank you to KMUD for providing airtime and publicity for the event. We thank all of our volunteers who worked tirelessly on this event, and we really can’t thank them enough. They came early, stayed late, worked with aching feet, scrubbed dishes, helped raise money, contributed money, and did their absolute best to make our event wonderful while keeping smiles on their faces even after ridiculously long hours. A special thank you to Kelly Karaba for emceeing the event with style and grace; and congratulations to EPIC’s 2014 Volunteer of the Year, Kellie St. James, for her willingness to tackle any task with enthusiasm.
We are profoundly grateful for the financial and emotional support of our community who keeps EPIC strong and healthy. As we move forward into 2015 and beyond, we will work together to create a healthy and connected forested ecosystem with clean air, ample cold water, abundant native flora and fauna and to ensure our quality of life for now and for future generations.