It was a memorable evening for our 18th annual Wild Night Out which saw us hit our stretch goal of $90,000. We couldn’t have made this happen without the support of our guests, sponsors, board members, and volunteers. What makes this event so special is the passion shared by everyone in the room for our wild places here in Washington. Thank you all for believing in our work and showing up when it matters most.
Congratulations to our 2023 Award Winners
Joining together with our community in celebration during Wild Night Out is truly one of the highlights of our year. As a small staff of five, WA Wild simply could not accomplish everything we do without the help and support of folks like you, and the local organizations and businesses who believe in our mission. Please join us in recognizing these folks for their outstanding contributions to conservation.
Volunteer of the Year
Kristen Proctor
Like any nonprofit, volunteers are crucial to Washington Wild’s success helping bring a diverse skillset to our goals and projects. Kristen Procter is a very talented graphic designer and visual storyteller. Taking time twice a year to help us produce our Spring and Fall Newsletter and helping us put our best foot forward to our supporters is something we wouldn’t be able to do on our own. Besides her amazing work on our newsletters, Kristen also dedicated many, many hours to helping us create our Washington Wild Lands and Waters Explorer Booklet which has been a project 5 years in the making.
Brewshed® Alliance Award
Bottleworks & Stoup Brewing
The Brewshed® Alliance is a key component to the conservation success of Washington Wild. This past year, it showed the power, passion, and statewide reach of the Alliance when working together. Our Save the Snake River Lager brought together over 50 beer industry businesses across Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. Working alongside so many passionate folks on one collaboration was a dream come true for us. Bottleworks stepped up in having the vision and enthusiasm to work with us to make a collaboration of this size possible. Stoup Brewing showed their support as the brewers, and hosts of both the collaboration’s brew day and our Snake River Lager release event that brought in close to 200 people and raised thousands of dollars.
Karen M. Fant Founder’s Award
Pat Hesselgesser
Since the age of six, Pat Hesselgesser has loved fishing and understands the importance of protecting clean water and fish habitat. Since moving to Ellensburg, WA, and working as a nurse practitioner, Pat has devoted most of her free time volunteering with the Yakima Headwaters Chapter of Trout Unlimited. In 2020, she worked with Washington Wild to build a diverse coalition of over 144 groups and successfully advocated for legislation banning motorized suction dredge mining in critical salmon habitat throughout the state. In 2021, she published an opinion editorial in the Wenatchee World supporting the reinstatement of national forest roadless area protections to protect ancient forests, clean water, and salmon habitat. She continues to work with Washington Wild to support a commonsense solution for people and salmon addressing the impact of aging dams on the Snake River to support Columbia Basin salmon recovery for Tribes, anglers, and all of us.
Conservation Voices Award
Schilling Cider
Schilling Cider has taken over the Pacific Northwest with its unique and delicious Hard Cider. All their beverages are handcrafted locally and use 100% fresh-pressed apples, locally sourced ingredients, and hand-selected yeast strains. For two years in a row Schilling Cider has brought their fun and impactful campaign, Keep It Wild, to our partnership, raising awareness about Washington Wild’s work and how to keep our wild places wild. After doubling last year’s donation, Schilling Cider has now contributed over $30,000 to support our conservation work.
Thank You to our Sponsors
