LAKE ARIEL, PA — Lacawac Sanctuary Field Station and Environmental Education Center will celebrate its seventh annual Farm to Plate fundraising gala at Watres Lodge at 6 p.m. on Saturday August 13th.  

This year’s event is presented by Brookfield Renewable U.S. 

Each year, Lacawac honors community members and those who have helped shape Lacawac’s future.  This year Lacawac’s dinner committee and board of trustees have recognized the following: 

Lifetime Achievement in Preservation—Chad Reed Watres. 

Chad first visited Lacawac as a member of the inaugural Wayne-Pike Conservation Camp in 1981. At Lacawac, he met Arthur Watres and began an association that would endure for the rest of his life.

In the summers following conservation camp, Chad returned to Lacawac to work as an intern: filling potholes, glazing windows, creating the first database of published research from Lacawac. 

At that time, Lacawac faced an existential threat; Chad witnessed firsthand the politics of preservation as Lacawac disengaged from the Nature Conservancy and forged an independent path.

Chad now lives in Australia, but he has remained an active supporter of Lacawac. He has served on the board of directors since the 1990s, and has helped Lacawac achieve many of its goals.

Corporation of the Year—Brookfield Renewable U.S.

New York-based Brookfield Renewable U.S. is a leading owner, operator and developer of renewable power, delivering innovative solutions that accelerate the world towards a sustainable, low-carbon future. Its diversified portfolio of hydropower, wind, solar and storage facilities spans 34 states, totaling approximately 7,300 megawatts of generating capacity and providing enough clean energy to avoid about 11 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year.

Brookfield has a robust charitable giving program and the company encourages its local workforce to be active participants in their communities, a press release noted. Brookfield, it adds, is committed to responsibly managing and supporting watersheds and providing ample recreational opportunities to the region’s residents and visitors alike.

Brookfield’s Pennsylvania portfolio consists of four hydropower facilities and 22 distributed generation solar sites. The popular 5,700-acre Lake Wallenpaupack in the Pocono Mountains is retained by the Brookfield-owned and -operated Wallenpaupack hydroelectric plant. This facility is powered by the lake, is contained by a dam and is capable of generating 44 megawatts of clean, renewable energy. 

The partnership between Brookfield and Lacawac began in 2016.  

Outstanding Research Award—David Velinsky 

Dr. David Velinsky is head of the department of biodiversity, earth and environmental science at Drexel University and is a senior scientist for the Patrick Center for Environmental Research at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University.  

He was awarded his PhD degree in chemical oceanography from Old Dominion University. 

Velinsky is currently studying the movement and cycling of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in estuarine and freshwater environments in the mid-Atlantic region. A focus of his work is aspects of water quality and wetland ecosystem services in the Delaware and Barnegat Bays. 

He is a member of the Toxics Advisory Committee and Advisory Committee on Climate Change at the Delaware River Basin Commission; is on the board of trustees at Lacawac Sanctuary, Science Committee at the Williston Conservation Trust; and is a member of the science advisory board for the state of New Jersey.

Watres Community Service Award—William E. Chatlos and the Willliam E. Chatlos Charitable Gift Trust

William “Bill” Chatlos is the grantor and one of the co-trustees of the William E. Chatlos Foundation. Through the foundation, Chatlos’ philanthropy has extended to Lacawac Sanctuary as well as many other local charitable organizations. His generosity, a press release noted, is a testament to his love of the community.

Bill was born in Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania on August 28, 1927. He is the son of Rudolph and Elizabeth (Mraz) Chatlos. He was the husband to the late Margaret Eileen Jackson. Bill’s fondness of nature, the outdoors and his enjoyment of the peaceful lifestyle of Wayne County led him to make his Beach Lake home his permanent residence. 

Although Bill is retired, he remains an active investor and investment analyst. For 30 years, prior to 1981, he was a principal of Georgeson and Company, which were specialists in proxy solicitation and investor relations. A consultant to numerous states, Bill has appeared as an expert witness before state legislative committees regarding state takeover statutes, particularly in Idaho, Massachusetts and Ohio. He has been a contributing writer to numerous books, and has been a member of the Investor Relations Association, Society of Professional Management Consultants and many more organizations.

The Lacawac Sanctuary is a nonprofit association founded in 1966 to protect a gift of the original Connell Park lands by Arthur and Isabel Watres and to facilitate environmental education and research. Located on Lake Wallenpaupack, the Lacawac Sanctuary Foundation plays an important role in the preservation of Lake Lacawac, which is one of the southernmost glacial lakes in the hemisphere and has been preserved in pristine condition free from development and encroachment. 

For more information, visit lacawac.org.