RESOLUTION FOR BOARD MEETING OF FEBRUARY 21, 2008
Title
RESOLUTION sponsored by the Board of Commissioners congratulating Lee Botts on her eightieth birthday
Body
WHEREAS, Lee Botts was born Leila Carman on February 25, 1929 in Woodward, Oklahoma to Bernard Robert Carman and Bertha Rutledge Carman; and
WHEREAS, she attended East High School in Wichita, Kansas, where she excelled at debate, among other subjects, and received a Bachelor’s of Arts Degree in English from Oklahoma State University, known then as Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College; and
WHEREAS, the years she spent growing up in the United States “Dust Bowl” during the Depression had a profound impact on her and heightened her appreciation for water as a resource; and
WHEREAS, Lee first discovered the freshwater coast after moving to the Hyde Park neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois with her husband, Lambert Botts, to raise their children: Karl, Beth, Paul and Alan; and
WHEREAS, after moving to Chicago, Lee began writing a column on gardening with Chicago’s oldest community newspaper, the Hyde Park Herald, and later became the Editor-in-Chief; and
WHEREAS, Lee, after joining the newly formed Save the Dunes Council in 1959, fought an uphill battle against industrialization of the Indiana Shoreline and pushed to create the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore; and
WHEREAS, the Lake Michigan Federation, now known as the Alliance for the Great Lakes, the first independent citizens’ organization dedicated to the protection and preservation of a specific Great Lake, was founded by Lee; and
WHEREAS, President Jimmy Carter in 1977 named Lee Botts as head of the Great Lakes Basin Commission where she dedicated her time to protecting the natural resources of the Great Lake-St. Lawrence System; and
WHEREAS, Lee was instrumental in the development and existence of the Indiana Dunes Environmental Learning Center, educating more than 5,000 students per year about the environment; and
WHEREAS, the passion and concern Lee has shown for the Great Lakes and the environment has earned her an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Indiana University, a Doctor of Laws, Honoris Causa, from the Calumet College of St. Joseph and the designation as a Distinguished Hoosier by Indiana Governor Mitchell Daniels; and
WHEREAS, Lee is author of numerous publications including The Great Lakes: An Environmental Atlas and Resource Book, The Environment of Northwest Indiana, The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement: Its Past Success and Uncertain Future and The Evolution of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement and an expert on the topic of the Great Lakes; and
WHEREAS, Lee is the recipient of the distinguished Great Lakes Commission Lifetime Achievement Award; was honored by the United Nations Environmental Program for making a difference for the global environment and has been named one of 60 Fellows for the Purpose Prize Institute in recognition of making a difference in her community after the age of 60;
WHEREAS, Lee is a visionary who recognized the need to protect Lake Michigan and the surrounding Great Lakes at a time when few recognized the desperate need for attention.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that we, the Board of Commissioners of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, on behalf of ourselves and staff, do hereby congratulate Lee Botts upon the celebration of her eightieth birthday and express our gratitude and appreciation for her work on behalf of the community and the environment; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this Resolution be spread upon the permanent Record of Proceedings of the Board of Commissioners of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago and that a copy of same, suitably engrossed, be presented to Lee Botts.
Dated: February 21, 2008
Approved: TERRENCE J. O’BRIEN, President; KATHLEEN THERESE MEANY, Vice-President; GLORIA ALITTO MAJEWSKI, Chairman, Committee on Finance; FRANK AVILA; PATRICIA HORTON; BARBARA J. MCGOWAN; CYNTHIA M. SANTOS; DEBRA SHORE; PATRICIA YOUNG Commissioners of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago
Approved as to Form and Legality: Frederick Feldman, Attorney