George G. Haydock Award Presented to Jim Sears, Ph.D., at Lloyd Center Annual Meeting

Jim Sears and Myrna Hall Click to enlarge

Lloyd Center Executive Director Rachel Stronach and Board Chair Myrna Hall presented the George G. Haydock Award to James “Jim” Sears, Ph.D. at the Lloyd Center’s Annual Meeting held on April 27th. This is the Center’s most prestigious award and is presented annually to an individual, selected by the staff and Board of Directors of the Lloyd Center who, in the spirit and tradition exemplified by long-time Lloyd Center supporter and nature enthusiast, Dr. George G. Haydock, is deemed to have personally made a most outstanding contribution to protecting the fragile nature of our coastal environment.

Jim Sears is an Artist and Retired Professor of Biology, Chancellor Professor Emeritus, from the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, MA (1974 – 2006). After retiring from the university (2002), Sears returned to study art and took his BFA in Painting (2006). Jim is now a studio and plein air artist in Dartmouth, MA working in oil colors. During the annual Art Drive, an August open studio event in Dartmouth and Westport, MA, Jim paints landscapes, cityscapes (New Bedford Portuguese neighborhoods, Brooklyn and Manhattan, NY) and other regional motifs.

In addition to earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (2002 – 2006), Sears earned a Master’s Degree, and a Pd.D. in Botany (Marine algae and ecology) from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst (1964 – 1970), as well as a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Biology from the University of Oregon, Eugene, OR (1960 – 1964).

Sears’ environmental contributions include: Dartmouth Natural Resource Trust – Board of Directors (1978 – 1981), President (1978 – 1980), Lloyd Center Committee (1982 – 1984), Consultant to the Committee (1980 – 1981), and Committee Chair (1982 – 1984). He wrote the Lloyd Center’s mission statement upon which the Center’s Articles of Operation were based. Jim is a ‘Life Member” of the Lloyd Center for the Environment.

In other Annual Meeting news: Directors Kathleen G. Clear, Stephen Demarest Rath, and Stephen B. Witzig, Ph.D. will each serve an additional three-year term. Suzanne W. Prescott, Otto W. Schleinkofer III, C.P.A. and Daphne F. Siegal joined the Board of Directors, each for a three-year term. Having served for several terms, Past Chair George R. Nelson, M.D., Robert M. Pielech, C.P.A., and Meg Christ retired from the board.

The Lloyd Center also shared exciting news regarding its new partnership with the Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational-Technical High School at the Center’s Annual Meeting. Lloyd Center leadership provided an overview of the new and exciting relationship, and highlighted the next step in the transformational effort that will enhance the Center’s ability to operate and serve our region.

An “Energy Efficiency” Presentation was led by Lloyd Center Building Committee Co-Chair Jeremy Dagold of CLEAResult, and Mass Save Representative Kristen Pomer from Eversource. Dagold discussed the new energy codes being adapted in Massachusetts and the industry efforts to make buildings energy efficient and sustainable. Dagold is a key part of the Lloyd Center team and the effort to prepare for a Deep Energy Retrofit of the Main Building and to construct the Welcome Center to the efficiency standards of the Passive House Institute. Kristen Pomer gave a presentation on the Mass Save programs available to residential customers. Annual Meeting attendees learned about the “nuts and bolts” of energy efficiency and simple home improvements that result in energy savings in an informative and fun discussion about energy, efficiency and building more sustainable buildings. The Annual Meeting took place on Thursday, April 27th at the Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational-Technical High School, located at 1121 Ashley Blvd. in New Bedford, MA.