Submitted by the Conasauga River Alliance

The Conasauga River Alliance recognized the volunteer contributions of five people who worked to improve the quality of life of the river in 2008 during the board of directors’ annual Christmas meeting.

• Frank Adams, director of Keep Chatsworth-Murray Beautiful, was recognized for his many years of service and organization of the river cleanups in Murray County. Adams has been a prominent supporter of clean water in Murray County through his efforts with students and community groups.

• Doyle Dobson, director of Whitfield County public works, was recognized for his many years of support on a variety of Clean Water Act projects in the Conasauga River, from the stormwater treatment demonstration at the public works yard to annual river cleanup help and other projects.

• Randy Hale of Chattanooga was recognized for the aerial photo-posters used during the Earth Day 2008 fly-over event with local elected officials. The fly-over provided a bird's eye view of the river and the changes in quality from the headwaters in the Blue Ridge mountains in Murray County downstream to the confluence with the Coosawattee in Gordon County.

• Bill Morgan of Varnell was recognized for his tireless efforts in the restoration of the Varnell Springs project. Varnell Springs has received several national restoration grants to protect and restore the springs site, in part to Morgan’s leadership in recruiting volunteers to help with the project.

• Tracy Spurlock with Indian Trace Golf Course in Chatsworth was recognized for his efforts with the annual Sparkling Water (Cherokee for Conasauga) Golf Tournament fundraiser. Proceeds are used for local community outreach projects with schools and student groups.

Joe Davis is the president-elect of the Conasauga River Alliance. Davis lives in Cleveland Tenn. His family owns one of the larger farms along the Conasauga River and were founding members of the Conasauga River Alliance in the mid-1990s.

The alliance continues to recruit and recognize individuals and organizations with a desire to leave the Conasauga a cleaner river. To find out more about the alliance, call (706) 965-7069.