Annual Dinner Recap!
On Thursday, May 7, over 200 Clean Air members, supporters, and community leaders joined us at the Hotel Lafayette to celebrate another incredible year of hard-fought victories for environmental health and justice and to honor this year’s winners of our Unsung Hero and Golden Gas Mask Awards.
Our award winners, L-R: Diane Lemanski, Vince Mistretta, and Will Yelder
THE UNSUNG HERO AWARD honors a person who has shown a significant commitment to the fight for environmental health and justice in Western New York but whose work might go unnoticed. This individual has demonstrated both humility and an unwavering commitment to the fight for environmental health and justice in the region.
THE GOLDEN GAS MASK AWARD honors a person who has shown dedication and leadership in the fight for environmental health and justice in Western New York. This individual has demonstrated a deep commitment to action on behalf of Western New York residents and has contributed to the development of powerful strategies to improve community health and the environment.
WILLIAM YELDER is a member and volunteer from Buffalo. Will has worked tirelessly on our Participatory Budgeting (PB) campaign, among several others, since joining Clean Air in 2012. PB is trying to democratize public money in the City of Buffalo to be decided on by regular people. He has attended three PB conferences across the country; presented at multiple conferences, community events, and regional panels; was a 2012 Lois Gibbs Fellow; has made hundreds of phone calls during phone banks; and has met with every member of the Common Council, the Mayor, and many other local legislators about PB. Will was also on the City Hall PB Working Group Committee to explore whether the City of Buffalo can implement PB. If you need to know anything or everything about PB, Will is your guy – though be prepared to listen for a while. Just call him PB Will, he is one of our recipients of the 2015 Unsung Hero Award.
VINCENZO MISTRETTA has been the man behind the camera at dozens of Clean Air events since becoming involved in 2011. All of the videos used to promote Clean Air and document our work have been shot, edited, and perfected by Vince. He’s shot the Just Transition Conference, Amigone Hearings, Participatory Budgeting Expo, and many more. Vince has also given his time and energy as a volunteer at several Clean Air events, helping the staff build a movement for a healthier WNY. He is one of our recipients of the 2015 Unsung Hero Award.
DIANE LEMANSKI joined Clean Air in 2013 for support in fighting the noise and dust coming from a concrete crusher that is operating behind her home in Seneca Babcock. Diane’s comprehensive record keeping and “take no prisoners” attitude led to organizing her neighbors to fight for a better quality of life. Diane’s determination and strategy won infrastructure improvements on her street, DEC enforcement action on the company, and Senator Charles Schumer’s support in 2014. Diane is the recipient of the 2015 Golden Gas Mask Award.
Thank you to all who attended, sponsored, and supported our Sixth Annual Dinner. Visit our Facebook for more amazing pictures of the night, courtesy of Alex Fisher. Special thank you to James Heaney of Bicycle Creative for his support in designing our beautiful event programs you see above. If you couldn’t make it but would still like to support the work of Clean Air and our members like Will, Vince, and Diane, just hit the Donate tab up there on the top right – your contribution will go to work right away fighting for a healthier WNY for all.
Sponsors
Allen Street Consulting
Erie County Legislator Betty Jean Grant
Buffalo CarShare
Campus Wheelworks
Coalition of Black Trade Unionists
Canisius College Dept. of Environmental Studies
Citizen Action
Community Power for Health and Justice
CWA Local 1122
CWA Local 1168
CWA District 1
Dan Schmidt, State Farm
District Council 4
Dolce Panepinto
Emminger Newton Pigeon Magyar, Inc.
Gallagher Printing
Geico
Hip Gypsy
IBEW Local 41
Lexington Co-Op
Lipsitz & Ponterio
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz
Buffalo Common Councilman Michael LoCurto
Teamsters Local 264
Senator Timothy Kennedy
Town of Tonawanda Deputy Supervisor Joseph Emminger
Tri-Main Development
UB MD – Internal Medicine
University at Buffalo School of Nursing
WNY Area Labor Federation
WNY CWA Council
ECDC Chair Jeremy Zellner