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The appended PRESS RELEASE issued today by the Department of Interior is self-explanatory -- as far as it goes. It announces that the Walt Disney Company will receive from Secretary Norton an "Outstanding Charter Partner Award" for it's leadership role in a program called "Take Pride in America" (TPIA).
What the DOI's news release does not say is that TPIA was created by the wise-use American Recreation Coalition and spoon fed by ARC to Ms. Norton when she first took office. It does not mention that the recipient of this award, Kym Murphy, is a Board Member of the ARC as well as an officer of ARC's elite Recreation Roundtable. It most certainly does not say that TPIA is a pro-privatization, anti-federal employee scheme that exists primarily to confer special favors to high-impact, commercial and motorized recreation interests while facilitating further reductions in the federal workforce. To learn those things you'll want to read an article that was published a few days ago under the headline; "Nat'l Public Lands Day Raises Questions About Fate of Federal Parks "
To better appreciate what ARC's TPIA program is about, go to: www.takepride.info and http://www.funoutdoors.com/coalitions/tpia
Scott
PS... If Gale Norton is giving an award, doesn't that provided a strong indication that the associated program is suspect???? Heck, just think of the American Recreation Coalition's highly-coveted "Great Outdoors Award" which was recently presented to, you guessed it, Gale Norton!!!
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From:
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Sent: Tuesday, September 21, 2004 7:32 AM
Subject: SECRETARY NORTON ANNOUNCES THE WALT DISNEY CO. IS RECIPIENT OF
2004 NATIONAL TAKE PRIDE IN AMERICA R OUTSTANDING CHARTER PARTNER AWARD
Office of the Secretary
Contact: Kathryn Harrington
For Immediate Release: Sept. 21, 2004
202-208-6502
SECRETARY NORTON ANNOUNCES THE WALT DISNEY CO. IS RECIPIENT OF 2004
NATIONAL TAKE PRIDE IN AMERICAR OUTSTANDING CHARTER PARTNER AWARD
WASHINGTON - Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton today announced The
Walt Disney Co. is the recipient of the 2004 National Take Pride in
America Outstanding Charter Partner award at a ceremony held in
Washington, D.C. Kym Murphy, senior vice president of Environmental
Policy, and Karen Kawanami, manager of Disney Worldwide Outreach,
accepted the award from Secretary Norton.
Presented annually, Take Pride in America's national awards recognize
outstanding volunteer projects and efforts in a variety of categories.
The outstanding charter partner award is presented each year to the
organization whose support of Take Pride in America far exceeds
expectations. Disney is receiving the award for the participation of
Disney VoluntEARS who worked on projects important to Take Pride in
America's mission, as well as for programming support and other
contributions.
"Take Pride in America is a thriving reality because of the dedication
and enthusiasm of supporters, like Disney," Norton said. "For
cooperative conservation to really work, successful collaboration
between public, private, federal, state and local groups is essential."
Disney has been a leader in volunteerism more than two decades. In
2003 alone, Disney VoluntEARS participated in more than 1,050 projects
and programs and contributed in excess of 400,000 community service
hours at sites around the world.
"It is a distinct honor to receive this distinguished award from Take
Pride in America," Kawanami said. "DisneyHand believes in Take Pride in
America's mission and supports them wholeheartedly - it means a great
deal to have them recognize Disney as a company that goes above and
beyond in helping to support awareness and public space for everyone to
enjoy."
Disney also has a long and distinguished commitment to environmental
stewardship dating back to Walt Disney's True-Life Adventures, a series
of 13 nature films between 1948 and 1960 that won eight Academy Awards.
"Walt Disney would have been one of the first to embrace a program
such as Take Pride in America. That fact alone makes this award
extremely satisfying and appreciated throughout our company," Murphy
said.
Over the past year, DisneyHand has supported Take Pride in America through:
. Collaborating with Take Pride in America, the Points of Light
Foundation, AmeriCorps and USA WEEKEND on Make a Difference Day, Oct.
18, 2003. The resulting volunteer cleanup included a visit from Mickey
Mouse and a screening of Disney's Brother Bear for all volunteers;
. Including Take Pride in America's outreach messages in 6,000,000 DVD/videos of Disney's Brother Bear;
. Designing the "Show Your Character, How-to Guide for Young Volunteers" on the Take Pride Web site;
. Arranging for a special holiday message from Secretary Norton to be broadcast on ABC Radio; and
. Securing ABC talent to record public service announcements for Take Pride in America on two separate occasions.
Over the past year, Disney Environmental Policy has supported Take Pride in America through:
. Securing the Jiminy Cricket Environmentality Challenge grand prize
winners - a class of fifth-grade environmental heroes - to volunteer in
painting picnic tables and clearing a nature trail at an April 2004
press event where Clint Eastwood was named the Take Pride in America
spokesman;
. Hosting a brainstorming session involving Department of Interior personnel and Walt Disney Imagineers; and
. Inviting Secretary Norton and Executive Director Marti Allbright to
join a special group of Wonderful Outdoor World kids on horseback in
the Tournament of Roses Parade. A separate press event highlighted Take
Pride in America and resulted in increased attention for the New Year's
Pledge Drive, netting more than 400,000 volunteer hours for forest-fire
restoration efforts in southern California.
"Since Take Pride in America's inception, Disney's support has been
unwavering," said Marti Allbright, executive director of Take Pride in
America. "When the Take Pride team calls our friends at Disney, they
always get the job done while going the extra mile."
About DisneyHand
DisneyHand, worldwide outreach for The Walt Disney Co., is dedicated
to making the dreams of families and children a reality through public
service initiatives, community outreach and volunteerism in the areas
of compassion, learning, the arts and the environment.
About Disney Environmental Policy
Disney's Environmentality is the attitude and commitment to support
responsible environmental initiatives and the commitment begins with
individual action. Corporate Environmental Policy is a division of The
Walt Disney Company that promotes environmentality among internal and
external audiences to balance environmental stewardship with our
corporate goals and operations around the world.
-- MORE --
About Take Pride in America Take Pride in America is a national
partnership that encourages, supports and recognizes volunteers who
work to improve our public parks, forests, grasslands, reservoirs,
wildlife refuges, cultural and historic sites, local playgrounds, and
other recreation areas. With 100 Charter Partners, Take Pride involves
federal, state and local governments; conservation, youth and
recreation groups; and top national corporations and organizations.
Together, we protect and enhance the special legacy all Americans share
- our public lands that cover more than one in every three acres across
the nation. For more information visit: www.TakePride.gov.
-- DOI --
WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT DISNEY's LONG- STANDING AND ON-GOING BEHIND-THE-SCENES PUBLIC LAND DEALINGS?
WANT TO READ THE CONTRACT DISNEY AND THE AMERICAN RECREATION COALITION HAS WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR AND OTHER AGENCIES?
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- Privatization 
