Lester Brown, founder and president of the Earth Policy Institute and founder of the Worldwatch Institute, along with Terry and Mary Kohler of Windway Capital Corp., are to be the recipients of the 2009 Lindbergh Award. The awards are scheduled for presentation on May 16 at the EAA AirVenture Museum, in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
“Mr. Brown and the Kohlers convey an outstanding spirit of individual initiative and incredible accomplishment,” said Lindbergh Foundation Chairman John King. “This makes them perfect recipients for our Lindbergh Award.”
The Lindbergh Award is presented annually to individuals who have made significant contributions, over many years, toward “improving our quality of life by balancing technological advancements and the preservation of our environment,” King said.
Lester Brown is an award-winning environmentalist and internationally recognized author of more than 50 books on global environmental issues. Before starting the Earth Policy Institute in 2001, he founded Worldwatch Institute and was its president for 26 years. “Lester Brown is an exceptional portrayal of the Lindbergh Foundation’s ideals,” said King.
“Terry and Mary Kohler’s use of their aircraft to reintroduce swan and crane eggs in the United States is an excellent example of the Lindbergh Foundation’s concept of balancing technology and nature,” King explained. “Their commitment to this work is just what the Foundation seeks to honor with our Lindbergh Award.”
Terry Kohler is president and CEO of Windway Capital Corp. and Mary Kohler is vice president of the Windway Foundation. Windway Capital Corp. is the parent company of Vollrath, which manufactures commercial-grade pots and pans, and North Sails, which makes high-tech racing sails, including those used by America’s Cup winners.
In 1989 then-Governor Tommy Thompson asked Mr. Kohler to help with a project for the Wisconsin DNR and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. They needed to transport trumpeter swan eggs collected from Alaska to Wisconsin and the Milwaukee Zoo. “The request launched a nearly decade-long commitment by Terry, Mary, and the flight crew of Windway Capital, who made annual flights to Canada’s Wood Buffalo National Park to bring whooping crane eggs to the U.S., so the hatched birds could be returned to the wild,” King said.
In 1994, the Kohlers began supporting the Milwaukee County Zoo’s annual tracking of endangered Humboldt penguins in Chile and helped to rescue piping plover eggs in the Dakotas, when floods threatened the nests. “But their conservation work is not limited to birds,” King said. “They also helped transport a baby orangutan from Colorado to Wisconsin and have been involved in conservation projects related to trout streams and aerial surveys of ancient coral beds in Montana, and the Wisconsin ice age trail.” Kohler also made a round-the-world flight over Russia to deliver Siberian crane eggs to Western Siberia in 1997.
For information: www.lindberghfoundation.org
Terry Kohler is the nicest man I have ever met. This past year he supported the building of the Sheboygan Sailing Center which was immediately used to offer compitition for world class olympic sailors from around the globe. The center also promotes sailing for our youth. Thank you thank you Mr. T Kohler. We love you champ.