Awards for Scenic Nevada

Doug Smith, Joins Scenic America Board — Doug Smith, Chairman, Scenic Nevada, was elected to serve for three years as a Board Member of Scenic America at their spring Board of Directors & Affiliates Meeting in Washington D.C. The activities and affairs of Scenic America are controlled, directed and supervised by the Board of Directors

Scenic America has 25 Affiliates, Associates and Cooperative Organizations located throughout the United States. The mission of Scenic America is to preserve and enhance the scenic character of America's communities and countryside. Founded in 1978, Scenic America helps citizens and officials nationwide protect natural beauty and the distinctive character of America's communities.Scenic America and it's state affiliates and associates provide materials and assistance to thousands of communities each year.

Smith was a recipient of the W. Clark Santini Cup in 2002 for community service through oral communication and in 2004 received the Golden Pinecone Award from Environmental Leadership as an individual.

Smith was a founding member of Citizens for a Scenic Reno in 2000 leading the Billboard Ballot Question R-1 petition drive and presently serves as Chairman, Board of Directors, Scenic Nevada

Neal Cobb Awarded Santini Cup for 2004

Neal Cobb is a native Nevadan, born and raised in Reno. His worth ethic has been to preserve the history and culture of Northern Nevada and make it a quality locale in which to live.

Neal's gifted oral communication skills and good will is reflected in the adage "that he never met a person he didn't like" or "ignore a cause to better our community", as a reflection of his love of Nevada and immense civic spirit.

Neal Cobb's community involvement and work ethic includes but is not limited to:

• Historian of the Alumni Board of Reno High School
• Past Chairman, Board of Adjustment, Washoe County.
• Member, Washoe County, Design and Review Committee.
• Board Member, City of Reno, Committee on Historical Resources.
• Vice President of Ridge House who provides a helping hand by counseling, room and board to recently discharged felons from the Nevada State Penitentiary.
• For the past seven years Neal Cobb has been the Sheriff (Presiding Officer) of Western
• International's Chapter called Nevada Corral, which keeps western culture alive.
• Past President, Golden Valley Homeowner's Association.
• Past President, Harold's Club pioneer group
• Past Coordinator of G.O.D. (Good Old Days).
• Board of Directors-Scenic Nevada
• Has personally presented approximately 300 presentations on "Reno's History" to diverse groups such as school children, senior citizens, etc.
• Past member of "Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful".
• Currently active in personally removing litter and spearheading an annual cleanup drives in the North Valleys of Washoe County.

The quote by Ghandi, "We must be the change we want to see in the world." epitomizes Neal Cobb.

Neal Cobb served for 10 years on the West University Neighborhood Advisory Board (NAB) which included the University of Nevada, Reno campus. He represented the NAB on eight different Candidate Searches for UNR faculty members and support staff.

Mr. Cobb organized and directed the "Campus to Keystone" cleanup for the first seventeen times, working with the fraternities and sororities of the University of Nevada, Reno.

He received the "Golden Sage Environmental Award" from the City of Reno for his efforts.

He is an Honorary Curator of the Nevada State Historical Society Museum, which is located on the University of Nevada, Reno campus.

Neal Cobb is one of a kind who has used his tremendous collection of Reno photographs of Nevada History as a stepping stone to preserve and keep Nevada culture alive.

Chairman of Scenic Nevada Awarded Santini Cup

Doug Smith, chairman of Scenic Nevada, has been chosen as the 2002 recipient of the W. Clark Santini Cup. He received the award at a May 7th reception at Morrill Hall on the campus of the University of Nevada, Reno.

The award committee chose Smith because of his work leading a grassroots petition effort that helped usher in a law to curtail billboard advertising in the Truckee Meadows. The committee also said Smith's tireless advocacy and oral communication were a key factor in getting the billboard ordinance passed.

Former Nevada Congressman Jim Santini and former U.S. Attorney Kathryn Landreth both praised Smith's efforts before the award presentation.

Smith said the he was humbled by the award and was honored that it was in the name of the late Clark Santini, a community activist who preserved Rancho San Raefel Park.

"We all have a choice in how we make worthwhile contributions in leaving behind a better community than we found," Smith said. "It is a matter of priority, but with a commitment from dedicated volunteers nothing is impossible."

Upon receiving the award, Smith acknowledged his group's volunteers, without whom he said "David would not have been able to slay Goliath."

The Santini Cup is awarded to a person in the community who has demonstrated proficiency in using oral communication to achieve good works or bring significant benefits to the local community.

Featured in the above photograph from left: Former Nevada Congressman Jim Santini, Scenic Nevada Chairman Doug Smith, and former U.S. Attorney Kathryn Landreth at a reception for the W. Clark Santini Cup.

Citizens for a Scenic Reno (Scenic Nevada) Receives Stafford Award

(WASHINGTON, DC, October 23, 2000) -- Today, Scenic America presented the Stafford Award to Citizens for a Scenic Reno, in recognition of their courage and tenacity in telling the billboard industry, "Enough is enough -- no more billboard blight in Reno."

Citizens for a Scenic Reno formed in January 2000 to defeat a proposed ordinance that would radically increase the number and location of billboards in the city. After working with the billboard subcommittee of the Reno City Council for months without success to limit the number and location of billboards, the group began collecting signatures to put a citizen's initiative on the November ballot to prohibit the construction of new billboards in Reno.

Despite a competing initiative petition by Nevada Outdoor Media Association to allow new billboards in previously off-limits areas of Reno, and a lawsuit intended to make Citizens for a Scenic Reno back down, the citizens' group continues to fight to preserve their city's beauty and distinctive character.

"For nearly 20 years, Scenic America has supported groups like Citizens for a Scenic Reno who take on the well-funded and powerful billboard industry," said Meg Maguire, president of Scenic America. "This industry regularly uses legal maneuvering, misinformation, and personal attacks to block citizens' efforts to remove visual blight and restore scenic beauty in their communities."

Scenic America's Stafford Award recognizes a diverse group of individuals and organizations whose leadership in fostering scenic conservation at the local and state levels has had significant positive impacts, both locally and in many ways nationally. The awards are named for Robert Stafford, former United States Senator from Vermont, whos eefforts to reform the federal Highway Beautification Act and longstanding concern for our environment won him the admiration of all of us in the conservation community. Senator Stafford himself was the first recipient of this award.

Past recipients of the Stafford Award include Gov. Pete Wilson, CA; Sen. John Chafee, RI; Charles Floyd, GA; Julian Price, NC; City of Raleigh, NC; US Transportation Secy. Federico Pena; Former Gov. William Donald Schaefer, MC; Mayor Joseph Riley and the City of Charleston, SC; and Mayor Michael White, Cleveland, OH.