A Milestone Moment: 50 Years of Citizen Action!

 

 

By Gary Zuckett, WV CAG Executive Director

A new year is upon us. With a new governor taking office in January, the legislature won’t get down to business until the beginning of February. That gives us space to celebrate an incredible milestone: 50 years of WV Citizen Action! Our 50th Anniversary Celebration is on Saturday, January 11th, at the WV Culture Center. Tickets are available here! 

That’s five decades of grassroots power, bold advocacy, and real change — all made possible by people like YOU!

Join us to reflect on the work we’ve done together, look to the future, and spend time with friends old and new. The event features a happy hour reception and an anniversary concert with amazing local musicians like Kindred Valley, Corduroy Brown, and Steve Himes & Joey Lafferty. Gourmet hor d’oeuvres from Rowan’s Catering will be available to sample with wine or local craft brews from Fife Street Brewing. 

Interestingly, both Saturday Night Live and WV Citizen Action are celebrating 50 years. While these are very different operations, they lean in the same direction. Gotta have some fun and a sense of humor when speaking truth to power!

2024 will be remembered for many things: a disaster of a presidential election, an even stronger conservative supermajority sent to the WV Legislature, and millions of federal dollars from the present administration flowing into West Virginia doing good things, with local conservative officials taking the credit. As we look ahead, one thing is clear: our work is more important than ever. With your continued support, we’re confident that we will overcome whatever challenges come our way. We deserve a brighter future and will continue working toward it together.

Norm Steenstra Spirit Award

A highlight of our 50th Anniversary Celebration program is the presentation of the first Norm Steenstra Spirit Award by the Dunn Foundation. This award comes with a $5,000 stipend for a deserving recipient to support them in their work for a sustainable environment for our communities and the world! 

The Dunn Foundation, a long-time supporter of state and local environmental nonprofits, has decided to grant this award annually to a deserving person in the WV conservation and environmental movement who embodies the spirit and dedication Norm brought to his work at WV Citizen Action. Wayne Dunn will be on stage with Beverly Brooks Steenstra to present this new recognition of excellence in grassroots organizing and fighting for a sustainable future. We can’t wait to find out who the mystery awardee will be!

For those who didn’t know Norm, he was one of the first environmental organizers in the state and a key figure in the formation and early success of the WV Environmental Council. Under his leadership (and with our founder, Dave Grubb, in the State Senate), we won the ‘Garbage Wars’ with the passage of the WV Comprehensive Solid Waste Act. The Act made it too expensive to have empty coal trains coming back full of out-of-state garbage from East Coast cities to fill up our hills and hollows with trash, thwarting plans to build a dozen massive landfills here — each one capable of accepting more garbage than our state generated each year! 

Norm was also a leader in the successful fight against the Apple Grove Pulp Mill, a taxpayer-subsidized boondoggle on the Ohio River that would have clear-cut our forests to make toilet paper! This new award recognizes the power of community organizing to help keep our state clean and green. We’re grateful to the Dunn Foundation for honoring Norm’s legacy in such a fitting way. Get your tickets today.