The Pelican - Fall 2001

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Florida Chapter Welcome Page

-- from The Planet, Sierra activist newsletter

Come One, Come All to the
Conservation Conference

Nov. 9-11, Ocala 4-H Center
'Empowering the Average Citizen'

Join the Florida Sierra Club at our annual Conservation Conference. The 2001 conference will be held at the Ocala 4-H Center in the Ocala National Forest. Located just 30 miles east of Ocala, the Center is located within 15 minutes of Juniper and Alexander Springs. Bring your bike, take a hike, and most importantly, join in the conservation conference!
This is an annual event and everyone from novices to longtime activists will enjoy the weekend. Our program will focus on exercising our citizens' rights to protect the environment. Come and take part in the excellent presentations and stay for the evening awards program and campfire. Leave time for a hike on the Florida Trail in the Ocala National Forest or a swim in one of the fresh water springs located near the camp. Families are welcome to attend.

Driving Directions
From Gainesville and NW: Take I-75 south to SR 40. Follow SR 40 east 26 miles to US 19. Go south on US 19 approximately 5 miles. Camp Ocala is on the west side of the road.
From Tampa and SW: Take I-75 north to SR 40. Follow above directions to camp.
From Miami and SE: Take I-95 north toward Daytona Beach. Take SR 40 west (past Astor) to US 19. Go south on US 19 approximately 5 miles. Camp Ocala is on the west side of the road.
From Jacksonville: Take I-95 south toward Daytona Beach. Take SR 40 west (past Astor) to US 19. Go south on US 19 approximately 5 miles. Camp Ocala is on the west side of the road.
From Orlando: Take US 441 north (past Apopka/Mt Dora) to US 19. Continue past Eustis, Umatilla and into Ocala National Forest. Camp Ocala is approximately 11 miles past Altoona, on the west side of US 19. This is about a 90-minute drive from downtown Orlando.

Love Blooms
in Sierra Club

   There must have been a whopper of an icebreaker at a meeting of the Gulf Coast Regional Conservation Committee about a year ago. That's when Maurice Coman and Barbara Vincent met. He's the Florida Chapter's conservation chair and she's the Delta (Louisiana) Chapter chair.
   Last November the pair formed a task force of sorts when they added dating to their action items for committee meetings. By January they were engaged, and on September 7 they were married in Florida at the 225-acre Coffeen Nature Preserve, owned by the Sierra Club Foundation. The day after their wedding, they attended a conservation committee meeting.
   Which Sierra Club chapter will gain a new activist? The groom is joining his bride in Louisiana.

Thank you, Maurice, for all you've done for the Florida Chapter. Florida's loss is Louisiana's gain. We will miss you!
Sometimes It's All About Visuals

   Beth Connor, a campaign organizer in Florida, reports on the Chapter's successful publicity stunt to call for stricter fuel-economy standards for light trucks and SUVs.
   "We held it on a very busy road where every third car was an SUV," said Connor. "We displayed a new gas-electric hybrid Honda Insight next to a gas-guzzling GMC Tahoe. On a table between them was an open refrigerator to demonstrate that driving an SUV instead of a fuel-efficient vehicle is like leaving the fridge door open for six years."
   Also on the scene was a good mix of chapter and group leaders, a scientist and a repentant SUV driver. With a set-up like that, how could the media resist?
   "We turned out the local affiliates of CBS, ABC, NBC and Bay News 9, the latter of which ran the story four times every hour for 10 hours," Connor said. "The sun was unmerciful, but it just helped us drive our point home."

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