The TREE Fund Report
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TREE Fund 2009 Special Events Fundraising Tops $500,000! A Message from the Executive Director A Message from TREE Fund President TREE Fund Awards $183,000 in Grants and Scholarships in 2009 TREE Fund Partners with Chicago Trees Initiative to Keep Chicago Green TREE Fund Welcomes New Trustees
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A Message from TREE Fund President
This year has also shown great progress in the distribution of funds to worthy projects, despite a severely restricted budget. In 2009, the TREE Fund awarded $183,000 in grants and scholarships and inaugurated two brand new funding programs. The TREE Fund Research Fellowship Grant was developed to assist students working toward an advanced degree in arboriculture. The first recipient is Dr. Brian Kane of the University of Massachusetts. He will receive $100,000 over a 3-year period to support his quest to quantify the risk of tree failure in the presence of decay. Funding for his award was provided by the Dr. Mark S. McClure Endowment Fund, recently established by the Connecticut Tree Protective Association (CTPA) in honor of past CTPA Board Member and President Dr. McClure. We also awarded our first John Wright Memorial Scholarship, established in 2008 by Wright Tree Service to honor its late founder, John L. Wright. Recipient Christina Walsh will apply the $2,000 award toward her studies at the University of Illinois. While 2009 posed many challenges, we should all be very proud of the projects and research the TREE Fund supported this year. We’re hopeful that 2010 will bring with it a more stable economy and a better climate in which to fulfill our mission. The generosity of our supporters can help make that happen. When you consider that we received many more applications for funding than we could fulfill this year, it is clear there is so much more we can yet do to benefit people, trees and the environment. So please consider the TREE Fund as you think about giving at year’s end and in the coming year. Many thanks to each of you who helped us this year -- whether it was through a monetary gift, a gift in-kind or volunteerism. We truly appreciate your efforts and your commitment to advancing the field of arboriculture and urban forestry. - § - |
As 2009 comes to a close, it is my privilege to
welcome new key players to our organization. Mr.
Pepper Provenzano and Mr. John Hendricksen
will be the newest members of the TREE Fund’s
Board of Trustees. After an aggressive search,
the Board selected John and Pepper (MORE)based on
their experience, skills and contacts. They join
two other relatively new trustees, Dr. Hallie Dozier
and Mr. Matthew Wells, who began their service
on the Board in 2008. We’re pleased that these
dynamic people accepted our invitation and are
looking forward to how they will enhance our
effectiveness as a Board.