Sunrise light on a grove of tufa towers emerging from the water of Mono Lake with soft green and dusty-red wild grasses in the foreground, Canada geese in the shallow water with reflections of the rocky towers, and desert hills in the distance.

Andrea Lawrence Award Dinner a rousing success

Sunrise light on a grove of tufa towers emerging from the water of Mono Lake with soft green and dusty-red wild grasses in the foreground, Canada geese in the shallow water with reflections of the rocky towers, and desert hills in the distance.

This post was written by Julia Runcie, 2011 Project Specialist.

The Mono Lake Committee was joined last Friday evening by a wonderful group of Andrea Lawrence’s family, friends, and supporters at the first annual Andrea Lawrence Award Dinner.


The gathering was held at McCoy Station on Mammoth Mountain, where guests had a spectacular sunset view of the landscape Andrea deeply loved. Ron Nichols, new General Manager of the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power, spoke to a packed house about many of the Department’s challenges and long-range plans. Nichols’ address preceded remarks by Geoff McQuilkin, Tom Jacobson, and Rusty Gregory, each of whom related fun memories of Andrea and their hopes that her legacy will live on through the Mono Lake Committee’s Andrea Lawrence Fund.

The sunset view from Parallax Restaurant at Mammoth Mountain during the Andrea Lawrence Award Dinner. The arrow points to the proposed Mt. Andrea Lawrence.
Left: DWP’s Ron Nichols gave the keynote address. Right: Pete Pumphrey accepts the Andrea Lawrence Award from Geoff McQuilkin.

The event culminated in the presentation of the Andrea Lawrence Award to the Eastern Sierra Audubon Society, whose work to initiate the Owens Lake Master Plan process reflected the spirit of collaboration for which Andrea was a tireless advocate.

Ron Nichols, Rusty Gregory, Geoff McQuilkin, Quentin Lawrence, Pete Pumphrey, and Sally Gaines. Photos by Arya Degenhardt.

Thank you to all those who came to share your evening with us. We look forward to seeing you at the next Andrea Lawrence Award Dinner in the spring of 2012!

Tags