Erchul Environmental Leadership Award
The Erchul Environmental Leadership Award recognizes a Virginian who has made significant individual efforts to better our environment. Nominees will be judged on the basis of vision, expertise, commitment, integrity, communication skills, accomplishments, and diplomacy. Nominees may come from any field or endeavor.
The award is named for Captain Ronald A. Erchul, USN, Retired, who served as a professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering at Virginia Military Institute for 27 years. Captain Erchul, Ph. D., was the founder and coordinator of the Environment Virginia Symposium until his retirement. He passed away October 2011.
2013 NOMINATION AND SELECTION PROCESS
*2013 nominations are now closed. Click here to read about the nominees!
Open nominations
Nominations are open December 17, 2012 and close on February 15, 2013. A call for nominations is announced with a news release and email to all past attendees of the Environment Virginia Symposium. Nominations are submitted online for any living Virginia citizen aged 18 and over. A 250-word rationale is submitted by the nominator to explain why the nominee is a deserving candidate. All nominations are usually held in consideration, but the conference office reserves the right to eliminate candidates that do not meet the criteria contained in the rules and regulations associated with the award (e.g. posthumous nominations, previous winners, etc.).
Nominee Acceptance
Nominees must officially accept the nomination in order to be placed on the official ballot. Nominees are contacted by phone or email by the office and are permitted to fact-check and approve their nomination criteria before ballot posting. Candidates with multiple nominations will review all submissions for accuracy. Each nomination is posted. Nominees are also provided with the name of their nominator, information on the selection process, and the date the winner will be notified.
Voting
Registered attendees of the symposium will be invited to participate in online voting, March 4 through March 22, 2013, for the nominee of their choice. The top 10% of vote recipients are referred to a Selection Committee which is comprised of previous Erchul Award winners.
Selection of the Winner
The Selection Committee will determine the final winner via teleconference the week of March 29, 2013 with Major DeHart and Captain Rabern. If the committee cannot decide between two nominees, then the nominee with the greater number of online votes will be selected as the winner. The winner will be contacted prior to the start of the conference and given a complimentary ticket to the Environment Virginia Banquet. A commemorative plaque and check for $1,500 will be awarded during the banquet awards ceremony. Winners are eligible to receive the award only once, but are invited to participate in the Selection Committee for all future candidates. The previous year's winner will also be invited to be on stage to present the award.
Previous Winners of the Erchul Environmental Leadership Award
2012 Recipients
E. Cabell Brand
Timothy G. Hayes, Hunton & Williams
2011 Recipient
Cindy Berndt, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
2010 Recipient
Michael Lipford, The Nature Conservancy
News Story
2009 Recipient
Ann Jennings, Chesapeake Bay Foundation
News story
2008 Recipient
Ward Burton, Ward Burton Wildlife Foundation
News story
2004 Recipients
Local Government: John Carlock, Deputy Executive Director of Physical Planning, Hampton Roads Planning District Commission.
State Government: David K. Paylor, Deputy Secretary of Natural Resources, Commonwealth of Virginia
Federal Government: David L. Nelms, U.S. Geological Survey
Business and Industry: Robert L. Dunn, Environmental Affairs and Community Relations Manager for DuPont
Not-for-Profit: Katherine (Kay) Slaughter, Senior Attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center
Education: Ann M. Regn, Director of the Office of Environmental Education, Department of Environmental Quality.
2000 Recipients
Public Sector
Tayloe Murphy, former member of the Virginia House of Delegates
Dennis Treacy, Director of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
Private Sector
Jay Gilliam, Coordinator, Save our Stream, Izaak Walton League
Joseph Maroon, Virginia Executive Director, Chesapeake Bay Foundation
Honorable Mention: Private Sector - Robert Dunn, DuPont & Carol Wampler, Virginia Manufacturers Association
Honorable Mention: Public Sector - John Daniels, Department of Environmental Quality; Harry Gregori, Department of Environmental Quality, & Ann Regn, Environmental Education Coordinator, Department of Environmental Quality