Saturday, August 28, 2021

Connie Schmidt Receives Sierra Club’s 2020 Volunteer Service Award

By Linda Sullivan,

This summer River Prairie Group’s own Connie Schmidt was honored with Sierra Club’s 2020 Volunteer Service Award for “strong and consistent commitment to the environment or club over an extended period of time.”

Connie in center

In many ways a parallel honor for Schmidt, chair of both RPG and the Illinois Chapter, is the way, once the idea of nominating her for this award began circulating, letters of support began pouring in from all over the state.

In her nominating letter, Kady McFadden, Illinois Chapter Deputy Director, said, “The name Connie Schmidt feels wholly synonymous with the fibers and strengths of the Illinois Chapter. As a Sierra Club volunteer leader for the past twenty years and Illinois Chapter Chair over the past four years, there is no part of the Chapter that Connie has not helped to make stronger. Connie is the kind of leader where you’re left wondering how she can be everywhere at once, and always with a warm smile on her face. She shows up as her whole loving, energetic, joyful self in this work, while always pushing us to be even higher achieving.”

Connie was part of a group celebrating the retirement
of Sierra Club staffer Cindy Skrukrud

From far Carbondale, Jane Cogie contributed this personal story: “I first got to know Connie Schmidt soon after she had become Chair of the Executive Committee for Sierra Club Illinois Chapter. The qualities and abilities that have made her exceptional in this position became apparent very quickly. An early example for me personally was at breakfast the morning of one of my first Environmental Lobby Days in Springfield. Despite other choices on which table to join, she sat down next to me, introduced herself, and soon had me sharing news of my interests and ongoing projects. Particularly because at that time I was relatively new to lobbying, her support added to my sense of purpose, of being part of group committed to working together to make a difference.”

Connie with State Sen. Laura Ellman (3rd from right, back row) 

As Illinois Chapter Chair, Schmidt set a new standard of excellence and engagement that her successors will find hard to match. She has traveled to events all over the state to let local groups know that the Illinois Chapter has their back. She has led the Chapter in the direction of inclusiveness and outreach as no other chair has done. She manages both to keep control of Chapter meetings and somehow also be kind and gracious to every participant. Most importantly, she has been equally willing to take leadership on so many projects and also be the worker bee on other people’s projects. 


Connie with Rep. Sean Casten (2nd from left)

RPG members will remember her not-to-be-missed fundraisers for the Illinois Chapter Political Action Committee that she did long before she was involved at Chapter level.  They were in her Warrenville backyard where she keeps horses and chickens. She called it Party on the Farm. Bands that she knew provided music. Her husband, Mike, always sang. Everyone in the Chapter looked forward to these parties. It was so typical of her generous spirit that the money raised was given to the Chapter PAC, not her home group! One year the proceeds went to a committee in Heart of Illinois Group that was working on mining issues.

Schmidt joined the Chapter Lobby Team in 2006, its second year in existence, and has been an absolutely reliable member ever since, not only meeting consistently with her state legislators every year but organizing the other constituents in her district. Recently her state representative said to McFadden, “Tell Connie I’m doing a good job,” illustrating the strength and importance of the relationships she has built.

Connie with Lauren Underwood (2nd from left)

Schmidt always responds to requests to sit in on political endorsement interviews. She has consistently participated on Sierra Club and River Prairie Group phone banks and canvasses.  Even during the 2020 election when COVID restrictions put a damper on enthusiasm and what we were allowed to do, she showed up consistently, whether it was for her own legislators or outside the district, always bringing her joy and optimism to the after-phone bank circle-up conversation on Zoom. So hard to do!

She has been the long-time RPG liaison to the DuPage Forest Preserve Commission. She has continued in this role, attending their meetings and faithfully writing a Forest Preserve report, even as she has taken on the roles of Chapter Chair and Group Chair. The result of her long-time engagement with the forest preserve district is that both the forest preserve staff and elected forest preserve officials consult with the Sierra Club and trust the Sierra Club as a partner to overcome anti-science, anti-wildlife thinking in the county.

In 2015 the River Prairie Group launched the DuPage Monarch Project, a collaborative effort that was joined by the Forest preserve District and other conservation groups, such as the Conservation Foundation. Mayors and park district boards were asked to sign a resolution in support of DMP, take action to increase available habitat, and increase awareness of the plight of pollinators through outreach to residents.

Lonnie Morris, the originator and driving force behind the DMP, wrote this about Connie’s participation in DuPage Monarch Project:

“Connie was supportive of DMP from its inception. She volunteered to be the River Prairie Group’s representative, actively participated in meetings, was involved with planning events, regularly engaged in social media outreach, and most importantly brought her considerable skills to the task of meeting with mayors and park district boards to present DMP’s vision.

“In its sixth year, DMP has a total of 25 signatories: 13 cities, 11 park districts, and the county, and 5 associate members. Connie has been instrumental in bringing the majority of these into the Project. A positive outlook, natural warmth, and persuasiveness combined with diligence, follow-through, and an impressive capacity for contributing time and energy to worthy initiatives are rarely found in one individual.” 

She and volunteer leaders from other environmental organizations established the DuPage Clean Energy Coalition, which has been instrumental in ensuring that legislators in their area stay strong on environmental issues. More than 40 individuals are active with this group, and they’ve held numerous public events. In addition, she has built relationships with the NAACP of DuPage County and was invited to join their board in the process, and this relationship has helped us make connections with local NAACP groups across the state. 

Connie became Vice Chair of the River Prairie Group in 2009 and became RPG chair in 2013, a role she kept until she took the position of Illinois Chapter chair. Even after taking on the demanding role of Chapter Chair, she stayed involved with the group, becoming RPG vice chair. When her successor, Jeff Gahris, stepped down as chair because of his election to the DuPage Forest Preserve Commission (Hooray!), Connie stepped up once again to become RPG Chairwoman.

Currently Connie is both the RPG and Chapter chair, doing her always fantastic job.


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