NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY CONFERS CHAIRMAN’S AWARD ON RICHARD GOLDMAN

WASHINGTON—The National Geographic Society will present its Chairman’s Award on April 25, 2001, to philanthropist Richard N. Goldman of San Francisco for his contribution to conservation and global environmental awareness.

Goldman is the president of the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund, the Goldman Environmental Foundation and several other family foundations, which together have given more than $78 million to environmental causes and organizations.

The Society’s Chairman’s Award was created in 1991 to honor individuals or organizations that “significantly advance knowledge of the world and all that is in it” and who provide the means for others to do important environmental and conservation work around the world.

This year, the Society is redoubling its efforts to inform people of the critical need to be responsible stewards of the environment.

“Dick Goldman is a true environmental hero, and we are proud to honor him with our Chairman’s Award,” said National Geographic Society President John Fahey. “His extraordinary generosity and commitment to conservation have made a significant difference in preserving our fragile planet. His support of the Society’s Sustainable Seas Expeditions has been vital to the exploration and conservation of our ocean resources.”

Only two other individuals have received the Chairman’s Award: Laurance Rockefeller, for his conservation and environmental efforts, and Lady Bird Johnson, for her work with wildflowers, national parks and other lifelong conservation activities. Both were honored in 1995.

Organizations that have received the award for their outstanding environmental or education efforts include Canon, Citibank, The Phil Harden Foundation, Amtrak, Westvaco, Bell Atlantic and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

The award will be presented at the 2001 Goldman Environmental Prize ceremony at National Geographic Society headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, April 25. The Environmental Prize, created by the Goldmans in 1990, is the world’s largest prize honoring grassroots environmental activists. It gives a total of $750,000 annually to environmental heroes—from each of the inhabited continental regions—chosen for their sustained and important environmental achievements.

This year’s recipients include two U.S. journalists who risked their careers to expose the dangers of recombinant bovine growth hormone, a Rwandan who fought to save his country’s last 355 mountain gorillas amidst genocidal warfare, and a Bolivian labor leader who became an advocate for universal rights to affordable, clean water.

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April 2001