Most Recent Winner:
NASA Wallops Flight Facility
Wallops Island, VA

WMDT & Mountaire Farms are proud to announce NASA Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, VA, as the WMDT/Mountaire Environmental Star of the Month Award recipient for the month of August.  The “little city” that is Wallops Flight Facility employs over 1,100 individuals and sits on 6,000 acres of diverse landscape on the coastline of the Eastern Shore of Virginia.  Tidal marsh land, pristine beaches, wooded areas and housing developments are all components of the vast acreage making up the 2^nd largest NASA Facility in the country; all of which is protected by a close knit group of 16 individuals comprising the Wallops Environmental Office.

 “We have a multi-faceted program.  We manage everything from hazardous waste, to natural resources & air emissions.  We have our own waste water treatment plant and drinking water system…a whole gambit of things.”  - Carolyn Turner, Wallops Environmental Office Head

For their environmental excellence, the Facility was recently awarded the highest environmental recognition within the Commonwealth of Virginia for programs protecting the area’s natural resources, becoming only the 2^nd federal facility in Virginia to attain VEEP 4 status, or the highest level in Virginia’s Environmental Excellence Program.

The Wallops Island Flight Facility is currently pursuing renewable energy sources, alternative fuels, and LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certifications for existing buildings.  The environmental office also specializes in pollution prevention, hazardous waste management, protecting endangered species, recycling, storage tank management and environmental planning.  All of these programs are managed through the Wallops Environmental Management System, a process aimed at improving environmental performance and stewardship through a beyond-compliance collaboration with the Department of Environmental Quality.

“ We all live in this community.  We all eat the seafood, we boat, we hunt, we fish and so we take very seriously the fact we can do our mission here and we can actually protect the environment at the same time…” – Caroline Massey, Asst. Director of Management Operations

For their extraordinary environmental accomplishments and their dedication to continued improvements, the NASA Wallops Island Flight Facility was an easy choice for the WMDT/Mountaire Environmental Star of the Month Award.

“The Wallops Environmental Management award and the personnel who deservingly were awarded it are excellent examples of a government facility partnering with the community and state to be good stewards of the what comes up from the land, walks on this earth, swims in its waters and flies overhead.  One can only be impressed with the organizational activities at Wallops and its people who care.”-  Roger Marino, Mountaire Corporate Director of Community Relations. 
 
If you know someone who is making an environmental impact and you would like to see them as next months Environmental Star call Roger Marino at 302-934-3123...To view previous winners click here.

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Environmental Star Program Details:

For many years Mountaire Farms has been among the industry leaders in best management practices, farm management, innovation on the farms as well as in the processing plants, and many other environmentally sensitive off-farm agricultural related practices. So it was natural fit for Mountaire to create a program in order to publically recognize the environmental excellence and creativity of individuals and organizations in the community that demonstrated their positive impacts on the environment.                                                                                       

The WMDT/Mountaire Farms Environmental Star Award was developled to encourage organizations, schools and individuals on the Delmarva Peninsula to THINK GREEN and take initiatives which are more Eco friendly. It is our hope that many will take on this challenge and inform us of their environmental endeavors so that we may recognize and honor those in the local community who are doing their part to make a difference. By promoting the good deeds of others we hope to further the GREEN efforts of all.

Each month WMDT (Channel 47) and MOUNTAIRE will determine, from the written entrants, the award winning individual, classroom or organization for outstanding contribution to the advancement, promotion, awareness and improvement of our environment. The awards will include an acrylic engraved table-top trophy; 21 promotional television commercial spots; 8 televised newscasts; 30 days of exposure on the WMDT Station’s and the Mountaire Web pages.
Entries will be accepted year round and should contain the following submission:
 
To qualify or nominate a person or organization, send a letter to me at the address below; or email rmarino@mountaire.com. Please include the following information:

   -  Name of the person or organization
   -  Name and address and contact numbers  (phone, email address, postal address)
   - Environmental accomplishments.

 Roger Marino
Corporate Community Relations Director
Mountaire Farms of Delaware, Inc
29106 John J. Williams Hwy
Millsboro, DE  19966