| On April 22,
2009 Vice Chairman of the Kane-DuPage Soil and
Water Conservation District, Gerard Fabrizius,
and his daughters took a trip from St. Charles
to Springfield. In the spirit of Earth Day, they
brought with them green ribbons to pass out to
legislatures. The handmade green ribbons are
connected with an earth colored bead and the
ribbon was attached to a green slip of paper
stating:
Please
support Earth Day, conservation, and the Green
Initiative by wearing these awareness ribbons.
The Association of Illinois Soil and Water
Conservation Districts is dedicated in
conserving wherever possible. These conservation
awareness ribbons are a reminder that we are in
this together. Together we all can contribute to
the vitality of our earth.
The idea was
to promote conservation while drawing attention
to the Illinois SWCD’s and all that they do for
the people and natural resources of the State of
Illinois. Gerard and his teenage girls, Olivia
and Grace, walked the halls of the Capitol and
Stratton Building and handed out over 250
ribbons. As the family moved in and out of the
Legislator’s offices, at one point they ended up
in an elevator with Mike Madigan. They took that
opportunity to mention that a green ribbon would
be waiting for him at his office.
Their efforts were evident when a green ribbon
was seen being worn by a woman reading a bill
during a General Assembly Session on CSPAN.
Since the trip, Fabrizius has received two
emails thanking him for the ribbon from Senator
Chris Lauzen, a Republican from Aurora and
Representative Bob Pritchard, a Republican from
Sycamore. As an added benefit of their trip
Gerard said, “It was a great experience for my
girls to see how government in Springfield
functions.”
|
