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Orange County Land Trust to Honor Michael Sweeton and Robert Augello at Annual Dinner Featuring Local Food and WineNYSDEC Director William Janeway the Scheduled Speaker
Orange County, NY —
May 13, 2008
The Orange County Land Trust will honor two of the county's visionary land preservation leaders, Town of Warwick Supervisor Michael Sweeton and Middletown Attorney Robert P. Augello, at its Annual Dinner and Silent Auction fundraiser to be held Friday, June 6 at Applewood Orchards and Winery in Warwick.
Each year the Orange County Land Trust Board of Directors chooses to honor an individual or organization that has displayed an unparalleled commitment to the preservation and conservation of land in Orange County. This year, Warwick Supervisor Michael Sweeton will be honored for his comprehensive farm preservation and open space initiative. Under his leadership, the town has protected 2, 474 acres of farmland through the implementation of a voter supported real estate transfer tax to help purchase the development rights to these farms. This groundbreaking legislation was designed to foster the business of agriculture while promoting responsible growth in the town.
Robert Augello, Esq. of Middletown is a founding member of the Orange County Land Trust whose advice and counsel has guided the Land Trust through 16 years of growth. First interested in land protection during the struggle to preserve Sterling Forest, Mr. Augello has represented New York-New Jersey Trail Conference and Scenic Hudson, as well as the Orange County Land Trust, in numerous land preservation transactions in our region. He has been in private practice in Goshen and Middletown for 28 years.
The scheduled speaker for the evening will be William C. Janeway, Director of New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Region 3 office. Mr. Janeway previously served as Director of Government Relations for the Nature Conservancy in New York, and was Executive Director of the Hudson Valley Greenway Conservancy.
This year's Land Trust dinner theme is "Celebrating our Agricultural Heritage" and will feature locally produced food from many area farms, paired with wines from Applewood Orchards and Winery. Fresh produce and meats will be prepared by caterer Mary Doolittle of The Edenville Country Store, including organic, antibiotic-free beef from 3C Beef of Chester, free range chicken from Dines Farms, ice cream from Bellvale Creamery of Warwick and local produce from many area farms, coordinated by Cheryl Rogowski of Rogowski Farms in Pine Island. A Silent Auction will feature "green" products and services, eco-tours and local outdoor adventures.
Tickets are $125 per person and can be ordered online or by calling the Orange County Land Trust at (845) 343-0840.
This elegant evening celebration of Orange County's agricultural heritage is supported by the generous contributions of our Benefit Chair, James H. Ottaway, Jr. and numerous members of the Benefit Committee. The Orange County Land Trust is also appreciative of the generous support of the following sponsors:
- Applewood Orchards and Winery
- Bank of America
- Concept Promotions
- First Federal Savings of Middletown
- Hudson Baylor Corporation
- Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union
- Jacobowitz & Gubits, LLP
- New York New Jersey Trail Conference
- Orange Regional Medical Center
- RJ Smith Realty
- Scenic Hudson
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The Land Family Foundation
- The Turner Miller Group
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The Valley Table
- Warwick Valley Telephone
The Orange County Land Trust is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to preserve the fields, forests, wetlands, ridgelines and river corridors in and around Orange County through voluntary land conservation. To date, the Land Trust has protected over 3,200 acres of biologically sensitive and scenically important land as well as working farmland.
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