Roanoke Group
of the Virginia Chapter

 August 8, 2008
Earth Friendly Friday

"A Vision for the Future: RAIL Solution and the 'Steel Interstate' Initiative"

Our Guest speaker for August's Earth Friendly Friday program is Michael L. Testerman, Vice-Chair of RAIL Solution, and President, Virginia Association of Railway Patrons. 

RAIL Solution is a grassroots Virginia coalition that is committed to providing a rail alternative to super-sizing Interstate-81. Moving traffic to rails will reduce congestion and pollution, save money, and prevent the negative impacts of highway widening in communities along the multi-state I-81 corridor. This presentation will include an overview of the "Steel Interstate" rail initiative being promoted by RAIL Solution, including its potential to provide quality passenger train service.

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A native of Roanoke, Michael Testerman graduated from Virginia Tech in 1971 and moved to Richmond for a thirty-year career in social work.

Michael’s rail advocacy sojourn began in 1975 when he helped several counties in Southwest Virginia in their failed attempt to retain their branch line service. In 1980, he was one of the founders of the Virginia Association of Railway Patrons, and he has served as its president since that group’s inception.

In 2001, Michael took early retirement from the City of Richmond to devote himself to full time rail advocacy. In 2003, he helped establish the grassroots coalition known as RAIL Solution, to promote a viable rail alternative to the proposed super-sizing of Interstate-81 in Virginia. He serves as that group’s vice-chairman and General Assembly lobbyist.

Michael is a board member of Virginians for High Speed Rail, and serves as treasurer for that group and the Virginia Rail Policy Institute. He is also a director of the National Association of Railroad Passengers. 

Date:  August 8, 2008.  Doors open at 6:30, program starts at 7:00 PM. 

LOCATION: At the UU Church, 2015 Grandin Rd., Roanoke (at Brandon Ave., across from Patrick Henry High School).  Everyone is invited to bring a snack dish to share.

Earth Friendly Friday is the second Friday of each month, and it is jointly sponsored by the Roanoke Sierra Club and The Unitarian Universalist Church of Roanoke.  Location: The Unitarian Universalist Church of Roanoke, 2015 Grandin Road at Brandon.  It is free and open to the public.  For more information contact Bob Egbert at 384-7448 rsegbert@comcast.net .

   

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Welcome!

This is the official site of the Roanoke Group of the Sierra Club.  Whether you are a member, prospective member, or just visiting, we hope you will find something of interest. The links on the navigation bar to the right of this page will lead you to information about our activities, issues, and leadership.  Thanks for looking!

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Who we are:

The Roanoke Group is a unit of the Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club.   The Sierra Club, founded in 1892 by the legendary John Muir, is the largest grass-roots environmental organization in the world.   We work on local, state, national, and global environmental issues.  We publish a bi-monthly newsletter and sponsor programs, social, educational and recreational activities for our members and the public (see CALENDAR of EVENTS for details).  For information about our officers and other leaders, click the "contact us" link to the right.

Where we are:

Our members, over 700 strong, live in Roanoke, Botetourt, Alleghany, Bath, Rockbridge, Franklin, Henry, and Patrick Counties, and the cities and towns within them. The diversity of our area ranges from the largest metropolitan area in southwest Virginia to some of the most scenic and remote mountain regions of the state.

Get Involved!

There is no time like NOW to begin, continue, or resurrect your active commitment to environmental protection.  Our "TAKE ACTION PAGE" is the starting point for your involvement! 

STAY IN TOUCH BY EMAIL:

Here are three options for keeping up on local environmental activities and issues.  We hope you'll consider becoming involved in one or more*:

Email List	Purpose, Features	Options	How to Join
Roanoke Sierra Club Email list(members only)	Official Sierra Club business only; infrequent messages (usually monthly); notices of meetings, events, programs, volunteer needs, Club election information, action alerts on major local campaigns, links to new content on web page..	You can opt out at any time or request that your email address be removed from your Sierra Club record.  Subject to Sierra Club privacy policy.	CLICK here to open an email with the subject "ADD EMAIL".   Put your name (as it appears on your Sierra Club mailing label) or your membership number in the body of the message, then SEND.  If this link does not work, you can email your request to mcclainmark@comcast.net
Roanoke Environmentalists News Group	More frequent postings (~20/month) - news, events, meetings, and information relating to any LOCAL environmental issues (Roanoke Valley and surrounding area).  May be used by multiple organizations to post their events, action items, news, and issues.	This is a Yahoo! Group, subject to their policies.  Anyone can join and post, with moderator approval.  You may opt to receive individual emails, daily summaries, or web only access.  Content must pertain to local environmental issue/events.  You can unsubscribe from this list at any time.	CLICK here to go to the Yahoo! page, then click JOIN THIS GROUP
Big Lick Green Drinks News Group	Most frequent postings.  General discussion on anything and everything Green, particularly involving (but not limited to) the greater Roanoke Valley.  For "Greenies" of all levels and interests.  Special bulletins about green events going on in the Valley, especially Big Lick-Green Drinks monthly social meetings.	This is a Yahoo! Group and it is subject to Yahoo! policies.  Anyone can join, and anyone can post, with moderator approval.  You may opt to receive individual emails, daily summaries, or web only access to this list.  You can unsubscribe to this list at any time.	Click here: (www.greendrinks.org) to be taken to Big Lick-Green Drinks' homepage.  Click on USA, then Salem, VA.  Once there you can learn more about the monthly meet ups as well as subscribe to the Yahoo mailing list.  You can also contact Carrie Cox at beersnobs@thebluenymph.net

*Only the first item in this table is an official Sierra Club email list.  The others are listed as a courtesy to members who may be interested in more active email participation in local news and discussion.  Some postings may be appropriate for more than one list, so if you subscribe to more than one, you may receive multiple copies of the same information.

ARCHIVES - On this page you will find links to content concerning previous activities, events, policies, and other documents.  To search the archives, use the search bar at the top of the page (this will search all pages on our site).