Spirit of South Mountain Awards
13th Annual Spirit of the South Mountain Award
Nominations open now through Aug 16, 2024!
12th Annual Spirit of the South Mountain Award
Each year at the “Power of the Partnership” event we award the Spirit of South Mountain to an individual, a project or an organization that advances the mission of the South Mountain Partnership and has made a significant contribution toward sustainability in the landscape.
This year it is our pleasure to award to a person who has laid the foundation of the Partnership we enjoy today- Mike Eschenmann.
Beginning his career as South Middleton Township Parks and Recreation Director, and retiring as a Bureau of Recreation and Conservation Division Chief, as well as the Internal Lead of the South Mountain Conservation Landscape, Mike Eschenmann has provided exceptional recreation, conservation, and partnership service to this region and our Commonwealth by connecting people with one another and the resources that they need for conservation project success.
Mike was instrumental in creating the South Mountain Partnership and shaping its early foundational structure. He played a critical role in South Mountain Partnership’s origin story by rallying support to purchase and preserve 850 acres of South Mountain ridge line in Monroe and South Middleton townships in Cumberland County, known as White Rocks. This White Rocks project was the initial project that gathered lots of groups and people together in collaboration. Mike helped that process along by creating relationships in each group – and this spirit of camaraderie and collaboration is what allowed South Mountain Partnership to take form.
Although retired, Mike is still actively contributing. He is a key thought partner to us and volunteers on our fundraising sub-committee and plays his guitar for us anytime we ask! He provides professional assistance to local communities in need.
Mike saw the immense value in networking and connecting with people and forming strong relationships and partnerships at the local grassroots level. Those relationships and partnerships that were built under Mike’s leadership have created tremendous resilience for the South Mountain Partnership, ensuring the shared work we are all committed to today can carry on to tomorrow. Today we have 54 organizations signed on as partners, and a larger network of over 2,000 people that stay in touch with the work we do.
11th Annual Spirit of the South Mountain Award
For our 11th Annual Spirit of South Mountain we recognize a project that has made a significant contribution to the landscape by elevating a unique place, conserving a piece of history, and connecting folks to the natural and recreational resources at this site.
We award the Spirit of the South Mountain to the Monterey Pass Battlefield Park Trail System Improvements Project.
The Monterey Pass Park Trail Project is located just outside of Waynesboro in Washington Township, Franklin County, and is a 125-acre natural, cultural, and historical park. Monterey Pass preserves a segment of Pennsylvania’s second largest Civil War battle and is located approximately 20 miles from historic Gettysburg. Over the past few years, Washington Township has partnered with the Friends of Monterey Pass Battlefield and local stakeholders to expand the trail system to increase connectivity and accessibility. Read more here.
10th Annual Spirit of the South Mountain Award
The South Mountain Partnership is proud to award the 10th Annual Spirit of the South Mountain to Lori Rice and Janet Pollard for their work on the “Stop Transource Project” Please enjoy this acceptance video with Lori Rice, Janet Pollard, and Patti Nitterhouse. “It takes a village to protect a valley” is the phrase used to describe this project and two outstanding individuals who spearheaded the movement from 2017-2021, bringing together an entire valley since to assess a 135-foot-high high tension, high voltage powerline proposed to run for 29 miles from Shippensburg to the south into Maryland. Thanks to the efforts of the Franklin County Visitors Bureau under the direction of Janet Pollard and Lori Rice – a farm owner and salon business owner – public officials at the state, county, and local levels; school board members; businesses both large & small; landowners;, nature lovers; and artists were brought together as a community to study the proposal – and to ultimately say “No, thank you.” The Spirit of South Mountain award is an important award given to an individual, project, or organization that has made a big impact in advancing a positive and sustainable future for the South Mountain landscape. This year, the awardees were announced as Lori Rice and Janet Pollard during the 11th annual “Power of the Partnership” event.
9th Annual Spirit of the South Mountain Award
The 9th ‘Spirit of South Mountain’ Award was presented to Dr. Claire Jantz, Director of the Center for Land Use and Sustainability and professor at Shippensburg University. Michaux Forest District staff had this to say about Dr. Jantz: “She is as comfortable creating and leading collaborative dialogue around data sharing and research prioritization…as she is organizing, energizing, and executing trail building and litter clean-up work days across the Michaux’s diverse recreation stakeholder groups. I have never met someone with Dr. Jantz’s scientific chops so wonderfully integrated and with such good humor, commitment to community engagement and development, and motivation to do good – practically – and in all things.”
8th Annual Spirit of the South Mountain Award
The 8th ‘Spirit of South Mountain’ Award was presented to Tonya White, of the Historic Round Barn & Farm Market and Thirsty Farmer Brew Works, for championing the creation of the South Mountain Conservation Landscape (South Mountain Partnership) in 2007. Tonya’s advocacy on behalf of this region led to alignment of and action around farm and open space protection, historic preservation, and expansion into new markets of tourism, agriculture, land protection, stewardship, recreation, heritage, and agricultural tourism.
7th Annual Spirit of the South Mountain Award
The 7th ‘Spirit of South Mountain’ Award was presented to Karen Lutz, retired Mid-Atlantic Regional Director for the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC). Karen joined the staff of ATC in 1988 after volunteering and being a founding member of the Cumberland Valley Appalachian Trail Club.
6th Annual Spirit of the South Mountain Award
The 6th ‘Spirit of South Mountain’ Award was presented to the Cumberland Valley Rail Trail Coalition in recognition their work that reflects the Partnership’s mission to collaboratively preserve and promote the landscape resources which make the South Mountain landscape unique and special, including a massive infrastructure project in Newville that installed one bridge and one underpass to address safety issues and open the trail to the east, one mile of trail was built at the Carlisle terminus, and an additional bridge was installed to connect the trail to downtown Shippensburg via Shippensburg University.
5th Annual Spirit of the South Mountain Award
The 5th ‘Spirit of South Mountain’ Award was awarded to Franklin County Commissioners and Greene Township Supervisors, in cooperation with the Eagle Rock Project, led by The Conservation Fund, which worked to conserve over 1,100 acres of land in Greene Township.
4th Annual Spirit of the South Mountain Award
The 4th ‘Spirit of South Mountain’ Award in 2014 (no award was given in 2013) was awarded to two organizations – the Land Conservancy of Adams County and the Conococheague Creek Trout Habitat Enhancement project. The Conservancy was selected due to its significant contribution to land conservation in 2014: seven conservation easements covering more than 1,060 acres of land. The Creek Project was selected for helping to sustaining the South Mountain landscape’s clean, high-quality streams and drinking water.
3rd Annual Spirit of the South Mountain Award
The 3rd ‘Spirit of South Mountain’ Award was presented in 2012 to the South Mountain Speakers Series Steering Committee for their tireless commitment to developing and implementing a series of free public presentations that showcase the special people, features, and events of the South Mountain region.
2nd Annual Spirit of the South Mountain Award
The 2nd ‘Spirit of South Mountain’ Award was given to Middlesex Township for the Trindle Road A.T. Trailhead project in 2011.
1st Annual Spirit of the South Mountain Award
The 1st ‘Spirit of South Mountain’ Award was given to the Pine Grove Furnace State Park team for their outstanding partnership activities that directly support the vision of the South Mountain Partnership, including promotion of local agriculture, cultural heritage, natural resources, recreational opportunities, and business opportunities for over 500,000 visitors.