Derby Waters, Jesup native and a reporter with the Wayne County-based Press-Sentinel, has been named the recipient of the Satilla Riverkeeper 2016 Conservationist of the Year award. The Satilla RiverWatch Alliance Board of Directors presented its highest award to Waters at their 12th Annual Satilla Riverkeeper Gala on August 20 at the Stricklands Satilla Lodge on the banks of the Blackwater River in Brantley County.
Derby received this award in recognition of his extraordinary contributions to the organization’s efforts to protect and restore the beautiful Satilla River, his investigative journalism on environmental issues of South Georgia, and for his role as a past board member.
In presenting the award on behalf of the Satilla RiverWatch Alliance, Riverkeeper Ashby Nix Worley acknowledged the vital role that Derby has played.
“We are thrilled to honor Derby as a near and dear friend of the organization, his coverage of numerous critical environmental issues and notice to the public of threats to their waters, wildlife and properties,” Nix Worley stated.
The organization thanked Derby for his years of support and his work at the forefront of local environmental issues such as the DuPont mining proposal for Wayne County and his exposure of the Coal Ash Disposal issue at the county’s Broadhurst landfill.
“His investigative reporting and exposure of issues to the South Georgia public is impressive” Nix Worley said. “Derby has a true love of the Little Satilla River and for his hometown community. His care for and commitment to the environment and the people of South Georgia is unparalleled, and he continues to shed light on issues that impact the region, and for that we are forever grateful.”
Waters received a framed photograph of a Great Egret, an image captured by Board Member Beth Roach of Jesup.