The North Carolina Society of New York Honors Camilla M. Herlevich and Jane B. Preyer
At December Dinner Dance Celebrating the Society’s 122nd Year

The North Carolina Society of New York hosted its Annual Dinner Dance Friday, December 6 at the University Club on West Fifty-fourth Street in Manhattan.

“The Annual Dinner Dance is the highlight of the North Carolina Society’s calendar of events for the year and marks the unofficial beginning of the holiday season for our more than 600 members.” said John A. Sipp, 2018-2019 president of the organization.

Each year, the Board of Trustees selects honorees who have made substantial contributions to the welfare, health and prestige of North Carolina or the nation through their service in civic life, business, arts, sciences, religion, military, education or excellence in their professional fields.

Sipp concluded by stating, “This year, we celebrate the 122nd year of our organization and continue our tradition of honoring North Carolinians who have made a difference by honoring Camilla Herlevich and Jane Preyer, who have spent their careers working to protect the environment in the State of North Carolina and beyond.”

The Honorees:
Herlevich is the founding executive director of the North Carolina Coastal Land Trust. Under her leadership, the organization has become one of the most successful land trusts in the nation, saving 80,000 acres of barrier islands, wildlife habitat, nature preserves, coastal rivers and streams, and longleaf pine and hardwood forests.

She has been recognized for her conservation leadership by International Paper and the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, and she has been elected to the North Caroliniana Society.

“I am overwhelmed and excited by this distinction,” Herlevich said when learning of the honor. Celebrating with Herlevich in New York City were several past and present members of the Coastal Land Trust’s Board of Directors, two of her colleagues, and her two adult children.

Preyer was the director of the Southeastern Office of the Environmental Defense Fund until her retirement in 2017. Her hard work and dedication to environmental causes helped fuel a campaign that resulted in the 2002 Clean Smokestacks Act.

The legislation required power companies to reduce harmful emissions by 70 percent and provided a model for other states in controlling pollutants from coal-fired power plants.

“I enjoyed being a part of the NC Society of NY’s Annual Dinner Dance and appreciate the wonderful honor!” said Preyer.

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About the North Carolina Society of New York:
In 1898, five men met in the living room of the Hon. George Gordon Battle to explore the possibility of forming a social organization for North Carolinians living in New York. In addition to the host, those present at the meeting were George Garland Allen, James B. Duke, Judge Janius Parker, and W.W. Fuller.

At the conclusion of the meeting, they formed the North Carolina Society of New York and invited August Van Wyck to become the society’s first president. The purpose of the organization was “to cultivate social intercourse among its members, to promote their common interests and contribute to the welfare of the state of North Carolina.”

Previous Annual Dinner Dance honorees include John Motley Morehead III (1958), John M. Belk (1972), Dean E. Smith (1982), Richard Hampton Jenrette (1994), Julian & Josie Robertson (2003), and Former Governor James Baxter Hunt, Jr. (2012).

For more information on the North Carolina Society of New York, and a full list of past honorees, go to http://www.ncsocietyofny.org/.