March 30, 2009
Touch of Nature ceremony will honor Laborers
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s Touch of Nature Environmental Center will honor a group for recent contributions to the center during a special ceremony at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, March 31. Mother Nature’s icy fingers forced rescheduling of the Laborers’ Union Appreciation Ceremony, previously set for late January.
Under terms of an agreement signed in 2008 by SIUC and the Illinois Laborers’ and Contractors’ Joint Apprenticeship and Training Program, union trainees get valuable, hands-on work experience at the center while Touch of Nature facilities benefit with much-needed improvements to sidewalks, parking lots, driveways and more.
The Laborers’ Union Appreciation Ceremony will recognize the contribution of more than 300 Laborers’ apprentices from throughout most of Illinois. They’ll receive certificates of appreciation during the ceremony at the Friends Room in Little Grassy Lodge at Touch of Nature’s Camp II. SIU President Glenn Poshard and other University officials plan to be on hand to personally express the University’s appreciation for the Laborers’ efforts. The camp is located about seven miles south of Carbondale, just off Giant City Road.
Media Advisory
Reporters, photographers and news crews are welcome to cover the Laborers’ Union Appreciation Ceremony at 2 p.m. Tuesday, March 31, at the Friends Room in Little Grassy Lodge at Camp II within the Touch of Nature Environmental Center.
Light refreshments will follow the recognition ceremony.
Touch of Nature Environmental Center came about thanks to the 1949 vision of former SIU President Delyte Morris for an outdoor laboratory to support the University’s educational mission. The 3,100-acre Touch of Nature is home to camps and special programs for children and adults all year long. For more information about Touch of Nature, call 618/453-1122 or check it out on the Web at http://www.ton.siu.edu/.