For Immediate Release
November 07, 2007

On Saturday, November 3, 2007 Catawba Lands Conservancy officially announced the Catawba Society, a new giving circle for the Conservancy’s most generous donors. Through leadership gifts of $1,500 or more, members provide significant financial resources to support Catawba Lands Conservancy’s operating fund.

In addition to leaving a lasting legacy of conservation, Catawba Society Founding Members attended the first annual Catawba Society Soiree on November 3, 2007. They were welcomed by 2007 co-chairs Peggy & Bob Culbertson and Millie & Tom Cox.

The elegant soiree was hosted at “Pian del Pino” Tom McCoy, Jim & Anne Griffith
in northern Mecklenburg County, the property of Margaret and Price Zimmermann, a part of the Catawba Lands Conservancy’s Ramah Conservation Area and a stewardship forest under the North Carolina Forest Service program. The Zimmermanns live in an Italian villa, built in the style of the early 16th century, with an Italian topiary garden adjacent to the house and natural gardens winding through the surrounding woods.

Mrs. Culbertson explained that the timing for the inception of the Catawba Society could not be more urgent, given the unprecedented development in our region. “With more than 6,800 acres protected in the region, Catawba Lands Conservancy is our local land trust, working each day to balance rapid growth and development with the preservation of natural lands.”

Click on www.catawbalands.org for more information.

The Catawba Society is named for the Catawba heritage of our region, including the Catawba River, which originates in the North Carolina mountains and flows through our Piedmont region. The Catawba Indians of the Catawba Indian Nation depended on the river and its abundant resources for everyday life needs; today, we depend on the river for safe and plentiful drinking water.

Catawba Lands Conservancy is a regional land trust that permanently protects land, water and wildlife habitat to enhance your quality of life. The Conservancy protects 6,820 acres in Catawba, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln, Mecklenburg and Union counties and is one of 24 land trusts serving North Carolina. Catawba Lands Conservancy is the lead agency for the Carolina Thread Trail, an environmental initiative that will link more than two million citizens with hundreds of miles of trails that wind through fifteen counties in North and South Carolina.