Georges River Land Trust Receives 2012 The Art of Stewardship Award

Greg Mort (center) congratulates Georges River Land Trust Board President Alvin Chase (left) and Executive Director Gail Presley (right) for GRLT’s recognition as the recipient of The Art of Stewardship 2012 Award.

Mid-Coast, Maine - The Georges River Land Trust has been selected as the recipient of The Art of Stewardship 2012 Recognition Award by The Art of Stewardship, a private foundation established by the Greg Mort family. This award is made annually to an organization or individual that exemplifies the mission of The Art of Stewardship, which is to encourage and support environmental awareness thought the fine arts.

During it’s twenty-five year history, the Georges River Land Trust has consistently reached out to and collaborated with art institutions, galleries and individual artists such as Greg Mort who are passionate about preserving the fragile beauty of the Georges River watershed. “These solid long-term partnerships serve as testimony to the trusted vision and leadership the Georges River Land Trust has offered our community,” said Mort.

The Mort family has a long history of supporting the Georges River Land Trust starting with Greg selling a painting and donating the proceeds to pay for the initial Land Trust organizational legal fees. Greg remembersthat years ago his twins walked in many Thomaston 4th of July parades with a homemade GRLT banner. Over the years in support of the Land Trust, Mort hasdonated limited edition lithographs, given talks, and hosted barn and star gazing parties at their home in Port Clyde. According to Mort, “It was always a great honor to be in the presence of folks that really cared about preserving our beautiful Maine.”

“We are honored and delighted to receive The Art of Stewardship award,” said Gail Presley, Georges River Land Trust Executive Director. “Just as art touches us and has lasting value, we look to conserve special lands that will make meaningful contributions to our lives, and will endure for generations to come.”

The Georges River Land Trust is continuing its tradition of collaboration with artists with three more events this summer. On August 3-5, Our Thomaston Gallery will present “Working Life of the Georges: Chronicles of A River Community Past and Present,” an art event to benefit the Land Trust with the opening presentations on Friday, August 3 at 5:30 pm. The Land Trust is raffling an artist’s proof of Greg Mort’s “Stewardship” on August 19th to raise funds for the permanent stewardship of conserved lands. On September 7th, the David Scriven Crowley Gallery will host “Art for Stewardship,” an art auction to benefit the Land Trust’s stewardship program. Visit www.grlt.org or call 594-5166 for more information on these and other events.

Georges River Land Trust is committed to encouraging citizens to discover the river and care for the land throughout the 14 communities in the St. George River watershed.