Volunteers recognized at appreciation party.

We are incredibly grateful to welcome new and experienced volunteers to the St. Louis Earth Day family each April.  Each volunteer makes a significant difference as we cannot produce the Festival without our volunteers.  Thank you to all our volunteers; around 200 volunteers over the St. Louis Earth Day weekend (April 20-21) and served over 700 hours committing their time and talents.  THANK YOU.

On April 30th at Schlafly Bottleworks, over beer and appetizers, we recognized some outstanding volunteers who have gone above-and-beyond the call of duty.  The following individuals have made significant contributions to our organization:

Mukesh Agarwal first volunteered three (or more?) years ago with his daughter and hasn’t stopped since! His “ready for anything” attitude and smiling face are a complete joy with which to work!

John Allen was a new volunteer this year and helped out on both Saturday and Sunday. He is very meticulous in his efforts and will not leave a task until it is complete to his satisfaction.

Pat Amick has taken a lead role over the past three years, acting as Neighborhood Captain and the Grand Marshall of the All Species Parade, and this year was no different!  What’s amazing is recent foot surgery didn’t keep her from running around helping vendors.

Jen, Gabe & Indigo Amunategui began volunteering around 4 years ago and it’s a joy to watch Gabe and Indigo grow up year after year, and still be interested in helping at the Festival!  It is no small feat that Jen is also responsible for fueling morning volunteers with donated coffee on Sundays!  These three are definitely a permanent part of the St. Louis Earth Day family!

John Cooper appeared in 2010 and has made a significant contribution to the Festival production every year since. Whether it’s arranging the straw bales, delivering smoothies to our office during long hours or fixing the stage banner that no one else had noticed is broken, John amazes and inspires all those he helps and with whom he works.

Sharon Cox & Barb Meyer are considered a dynamic duo. Sharon has been involved for at least 16 years and Barb just wrapped up her 5th year.  Having experienced volunteers like these two is wonderful, and we can always count on their attendance at our community engagement sessions leading up to the event.

The Heath Family made an impactful first impression by volunteering almost all day on Sunday – a force of four that helped on a number of tasks.

Charlotte Landrum & Randy Johnson helped to improve the Festival Info Booth operations enormously this year by providing great suggestions.  Charlotte also recruited and acted as a sign language interpreter at the event, and Randy is ready to tackle more next year.

John Marler began Sunday volunteering with the ConAgra group beginning at 11 am, and was one of the last volunteers still around at tear down!  What a trooper!

Lily Pappas has been a Neighborhood Captain for three years and has helped to improve our set-up operations significantly by helping vendors and working with staff to troubleshoot.  She’s a wonderful personality to have present in the wee hours of the Festival.

Bart Pola is a repeat offender of the best kind, meaning each year he comes back and volunteers more and more.  Bart makes a huge contribution and is a terrific addition to the team!

Casey Smith was a jack of all trades Saturday and Sunday, jumping into anything that needed to be done.

Leslie Smith (no relation to Casey Smith… just kidding!) brings passion to her work as a volunteer helping to keep all the newbies straight with Recycling On the Go.

Isaac Syler is a new addition to the St. Louis Earth Day Family and put in many hours on both days.