CTF Key Note Speaker, John Strassberger, at our Fall Fundraiser 2006.

The Conservation Trust for Florida (CTF) is pleased to announce John Strassburger, former editor of The Chronicle of the Horse, as the keynote speaker at our Fall Fundraiser & Awards Ceremony on Sunday, November 12, 2006 from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Golden Hills Golf & Turf Club in Ocala.

John Strassburger was the editor of The Chronicle of the Horse for 20 years before retiring with his wife, Heather Bailey to Healdsburg, California to start Phoenix Enterprises LLC, under which they operate a horse breeding and training business and a writing/editing business. He is currently editing the five-book Chronicle Comment Series, collections of the best columns by himself, George Morris, Denny Emerson, Victor Hugo-Vidal, and Anne Gribbons published in the Chronicle.

John is a graduate A Pony Clubber with experience in a variety of horse sports. He is currently competing at the intermediate level (having completed the Jersey Fresh CCI ** in June); he has foxhunted for more than 35 years with more than two dozen packs in North America and England; he rode point-to-point and NSA-sanctioned races over hurdles, timber and on the flat for several years; and he has logged more than 350 miles in endurance competition.

At the awards ceremony, CTF will honor two landowners with awards for protecting their land for future generations. CTF will feature a live art auction by some of the region's finest artists and a silent auction. Wine and a buffet-style dinner will also be served.

At last year's event, CTF auctioned off 27 pieces of original art from some of the finest local and regional artists including Kate Barnes, Eleanor Blair, Linda Blondheim, Peter Carolin, Sean Dowie, Bruce Fraleigh, Harriet Huss, Lenny Kesl, John Moran, Annie Pais, Sean Sexton, and Colquitt Tanner.

Avid horse enthusiast and Guest of Honor, Chris Machen, introduced John at the Fundraiser.

Over 150 guests attended the 2005 event at Savannah Grande Reception Hall in Gainesville and approximately $25,000 was raised for CTF's programs. CTF honored Freddie Wood and M.C. Davis, both landowners for their work in protecting their land for future generations with Land Conservation Awards. Larry D. Harris, Ph.D. was honored for his lifelong contributions to conservation biology and landscape ecology with a Distinguished Conservationist Award.

CTF has been instrumental in obtaining funding from public land conservation programs and securing conservation easements that have permanently protected some 5,000 acres of Florida's rural landscape. In concert with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection/Office of Greenways and Trails, CTF also initiated the Camp Blanding to Osceola National Forest Ecological Greenway, a 153,000-acre project that was placed on the state's top ranking Florida Forever land acquisition list in 2004.

CTF is a501(c)(3) non-profit land trust founded in 1999 by David Carr, whose parents were the famous sea-turtle researcher Archie Carr, and Marjorie Harris Carr (the Cross Florida Greenway located near the Florida Horse Park is named after her). CTF is headquartered in Micanopy, Florida. We work with landowners on a voluntary basis to identify and broaden land conservation options, and offer educational programs and materials to the public.

The event is sponsored by Alta, Inc., Barry Rutenberg Homes, Campus USA Credit Union, Central Florida Office Plus, Ron Chandler, Cox Communications, Gainesville Health and Fitness Center, Hawthorne Medical Center, Hendrix Consulting, Holbrook Travel, Inc., David Pais Real Estate and Landscapes, the Pearl Country Store, Petrotech, and Helen Warren, Realtor with ERA Trend Realty.

Tickets are $40 in advance and $50 at the door. To find out how you can participate at a higher level of sponsorship or advertise in the event program click here (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader).

Seating is limited; please print and return the RSVP form (also requires Adobe Acrobat Reader) by November 7, 2006.

For more information, call 352-466-1178.