National Committee for the New River Awards Supporters

(West Jefferson, NC) – Hot steamy weather greated the more than 100 attendees at the 2011 Annual Meeting of the National Committee for the New River.  This year the meeting was held at the Riverside Canoe and Tube Rental in Crumpler, NC, on Saturday July 23.    Paddlers on the New River Expedition 2011 also joined the celebration after their morning float.

Along with celebrating the river, NCNR gathered to present their annual Wallace and Peggy Carroll Vigilance Awards. The awards honor the spirit, dedication, and perseverance that former publisher and editor, Wallace Carroll and his wife Peggy, brought to the battle to save the New River from a massive dam project in the 1970s.  The Wallace and Peggy Carroll Vigilance Awards recognize the efforts of individuals and citizen groups who work to protect and preserve the New River.

This year, the Wallace and Peggy Carroll Vigilance Awards recognized Terry and Suzy Kepple of Riverside Canoe and Tube Rental for their outstanding volunteer efforts for NCNR.  They are steadfast supporters, leaders on the Expedition, and essential in our clean-up efforts.  NCNR also presented a Wallace and Peggy Carroll Vigilance Award to John MacConeell for Lifetime Achievement.  MacConnell has been active with NCNR for more than a decade, serving as a water quality monitor, as Secretary and a member of NCNR’s Board of Directors. John has also made a  planned gift for the future of NCNR.  Most recently he put a conservation easement on his 35-acre property which includes  headwaters of Silas Creek, an important New River tributary.

NCNR envisions a permanently protected New River as a treasured natural resource.  The mission of NCNR is to advocate for successful protection of the New River, to restore eroding river and stream banks and enhance riparian habitat, and to permanently protect land important to the New River.  NCNR works in North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia’s New River watershed.  The organization has protected nearly 7,000 acres of land important to the River’s water quality, scenic and natural values, and has restored over 70 miles of river and stream bank.