Who:
Joe Bina
Group treasurer
Where:
Jeffersonville, IN
I met Panaena at our Cumberland Chapter's annual meeting last year. It was two months before I saw her again at our Chapter's activist weekend in January. We talked as we searched the woods during a winter storm looking for our lost friend (not lost, just "bewildered" in the Kentucky hills for a short time as it turned out).
Panaena was active in the Bluegrass Group and I in Louisville. Miles of Kentucky horse country lie between us. When her school year ended we decided we could be more effective activists, conserve fuel, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by partnering. Our Sierra Club shelves and files soon filled as we combined our resources.
August 6th was our Chapter Excom meeting at Bernheim Forest. I had heard that from space Bernheim appears as a black hole surrounded by the glow of city and residential lighting -- lighting made possible by sacrificing Kentucky's hills, contaminating our water, fouling our air, and harming our children. Change is needed. That's why we were meeting.
Time dragged on. It's hard being an activist in a chair. Soon, my mind was wandering along the trails outside as I contemplated all the times I have said "yes" to Sierra Club requests. I hope with each "yes," and its consequent efforts, that I can help our Chapter stop the degradation that is enveloping us. Our Chapter Excom members are dedicated environmental activists. I love working with them. But today, as I said "yes" to yet another request to join a committee, I just wanted my personal Sierra Clubber request to receive a "yes."
Later that evening I asked Panaena if we could make our partnership permanent. She said "yes."
