Mary Edwards Friend of the Land Trust Award
Mary Edwards standing on Mary’s Rock in 1919
In honor of Mary Edwards’ many contributions to Granby and the Granby Land Trust, the Land Trust Board has established the Mary Edwards Friend of the Trust Award. This service award will be given annually at the Land Trust’s Annual Meeting and Hike to an individual or organization that has done – through a single gift or collectively over many years – the most to promote the GLT’s mission of “preserving Granby’s natural heritage.”
Award recipients by year:
2004 – Ray Betts
2005 – Seth and Lucy Holcombe
2006 – Robert Schlicht
2007 – Paula and Lowell Johnson
2008 – Dr. Forrest H. Davis, DVM
2009 – Fred and Edith Wilhelm
2010 – The Granby Board of Selectmen
2011 – Put and Nannie Brown
2012 – Dave Russell
2013 – Sali Godard Riege, Barbara Godard and Godard Family
2014 – Rick Orluk and Trish Percival
2015 – Dave and Sandy Schupp
2016 – Ann Pelka
2017 – Charles and Joan Katan
2018 – Rod Dimock
2019 – Steve Wilcox Hastings
2020 – Jamie Gamble
2021 – Dave and Jenny Emery
2022 – Eric Lukingbeal and Sally King
2023 – Mark and Barb Wetzel
2024 – Lowell and Maryellen Kahn
Ann Pelka Unsung Hero Award
Awarded when appropriate, the Ann Pelka Unsung Hero Award recognizes an individual who has worked tirelessly and behind the scenes on behalf of the Land Trust. Upon her passing in 2017, Ann Pelka made a surprise gift of four pieces of agricultural land totaling almost 150 acres to the Granby Land Trust. We will be forever grateful to her for this generous, selfless, and benevolent act.
Award recipients by year:
2018 – Peter Dinella
2020 – Dave Emery
2021 – Don Shaw
2023 – Leslie Judge
Olof Stevenson Award
Named in memory of Olof Stevenson, who served as the caretaker of the Dismal Brook Wildlife Preserve for more than 50 years when it was privately owned, the Olof Stevenson Award celebrates exemplary stewardship work by a member(s) of the Granby Land Trust.
Award recipients by year:
2021 – Karen and Bob Saunders
Granby Land Trust awarded its highest honor, the Mary Edwards Friend of the Land Trust Award, to Lowell and Maryellen Kahn at the GLT's 2024 Annual Meeting. GLT Vice President Dave Emery (left) and GLT President Rick Orluk (right) presented the award.