Sustainable Skidaway Named Volunteer Group of The Year

Sustainable Skidaway is the recipient of the 2018 Volunteer Group of the Year Award. The group is responsible for The Landings Association receiving the designation of First Sustainable Community in Georgia in 2018. Sustainable Skidaway partners with The Landings Association, The Landings Club, and volunteers from UGA Marex and the Skidaway Island State Park.

One of the initiatives of Sustainable Skidaway is to highlight the historic sites in The Landings. They have added signage to many of these locations including Delegal Tower and The Landings Pollinator Berm. Meredith (Mal) Welch, chair of the committee, said she and Sustainable Skidaway are pleased to receive the honor of Volunteer Group of the Year.

“Volunteer Group of the Year is a great recognition for the work of the Sustainable Skidaway Team, a steering committee of environmental educators from UGA Murex and the State Park, experienced staff from The Landings Association, as well as volunteers who brought a varied set of skills from their careers as doctors, scientists, and community advocates,” Welch said. “From the get-go in 2013, The Landings Association and The Landings Club supported seeking certification in the stringent Audubon International program. Landings Landlovers supported the project with grants, and Skidaway Audubon was its incubator.”

Primary funding to support the growing range of projects that fulfill Skidaway Audubon’s mission -- to enhance and conserve the natural resources of the island -- come from an annual golf tournament. The 21st annual tournament will be played on Monday, March 18.

“The importance of community certification in 2018 was that the long-term plan provided a framework for action over the next decades,” Welch said. “Recertification every two years requires us to stay focused and keeps staff and volunteers working collaboratively to meet goals. Certification also gives us bragging rights. Communities in Florida and South Carolina (e.g., Hilton Head and Seabrook) have been certified as sustainable, but The Landings is the first community in Georgia to achieve this status.”

Landings Association General Manager/COO Shari Haldeman said she is inspired by Sustainable Skidaway, and greatly appreciates the work these neighbors do on behalf of the Landings community.

“This organization is the epitome of environmental sustainability,” Haldeman said. “We recognize these humanitarians for the positive impact they have on the quality of life for others in our community. Our respect and gratitude to the dedicated men and women that make up this wonderful organization is well deserved.”

Landings Association President LeeAnn Williams said Landings residents are unsurpassed in generosity, and that’s what makes this community even more special.

“There are so many people who do so much on this island,” she said. “Our community is extremely blessed to have such generous, caring people who not only are concerned about the well-being of our community today but its future well-being. Sustainable Skidaway is a fine example of the giving spirit of The Landings, and I congratulate them on receiving this honor.”

The Volunteer Group of the Year Award is intended to promote and reward volunteerism at The Landings. The recipients are those individuals who have gone above and beyond expectations to offer their time, talent, and expertise to a cause which benefits others.

To qualify for nomination, the group must be composed of members in good standing at The Landings Association. They must have an exemplary record of volunteer service which has resulted in enhancing the reputation of The Landings and its citizens, provided continued service within the Landings community resulting in the improvement of quality of life, and/or the visual beauty of The Landings.