ATLANTA (August 29, 2017) – Serenbe founder and CEO Steve Nygren will be honored with the 2017 Argon Award at Southface’s annual Visionary Dinner, a gala that brings together hundreds of sustainability professionals to raise awareness and funding for Southface’s continued work in high-performance affordable housing, green infrastructure, clean energy, healthy buildings and sustainable communities.
The Argon Award is presented by Southface to showcase an individual or an organization that is leading the way in advancing sustainability efforts through innovative solutions. Winners are selected by a knowledgeable panel of experts, and Nygren’s commitment to improving people’s quality of life through healthy environments has earned him Southface’s highest honor. Steve Nygren joins an esteemed group of past individual award winners including Ray C. Anderson, Arthur Blank, R.E. “Ted” Turner, Jim Jacoby, Sam A. Williams, Martin Melaver, Edward Callaway, Laura Turner Seydel and Rutherford Seydel, Mayor Kasim Reed and Southface co-founder, Dennis Creech.
Steve and his wife Marie discovered the property now known as Serenbe on a weekend outing to introduce their children to the Georgia countryside in 1991. Weekend visits for Marie, Steve and their young daughters transformed their lives, and three years later they sold their Atlanta home and relocated full-time to Serenbe.
The community of Serenbe was born in an effort to protect the beautiful rural land just outside of Atlanta known as Chattahoochee Hill Country (now the City of Chattahoochee Hills). The first house at Serenbe was built in 2004 and today the community is home to more than 600 residents. Serenbe has won numerous awards including the Urban Land Institute Inaugural Sustainability Award, the Atlanta Regional Commission “Development of Excellence“, and EarthCraft named Serenbe the “Development of the Year” in 2008.
“Steve and Marie are visionaries who live their values, are holistic in their approach, and walk the talk which is what the Argon Award is intended to represent,” said Southface President, Andrea Pinabell. “It was no surprise they were thrilled to have Serenbe certified as one of the first EarthCraft communities, and their continued commitment to health and the built environment through innovative development practices sets them ahead of trends we expect to see in the future.”
“I am incredibly humbled to receive Southface’s Argon Award on behalf of our family’s deep commitment to advancing sustainability, and couldn’t be more thrilled to join the rank with our dear friend and visionary Ray C. Anderson,” said Steve Nygren. “At Serenbe, we believe a community is a living part of its natural surroundings, not something to be built at nature’s expense. We will continue to champion our approach to community development and work to ensure that future generations enjoy well-balanced lives that are connected to their environment.”
The Visionary Dinner brings together more than 400 policy makers, industry leaders, development and construction professionals, interested community citizens and stakeholders to network and celebrate environmental leadership. The Dinner, scheduled for September 19, 2017, will include a provocative conversation on the changing landscape for collaboration among cities to create healthy and resilient communities through the eyes of national leaders in philanthropy. For the third year in a row, Mohawk Group is the event’s title sponsor. Cox Enterprises is the presenting sponsor, and WSB-TV’s Katie Walls will emcee the evening’s program.
For more information about Serenbe, visit www.serenbe.com, and tune in to NBC’s Weekend TODAY in September to discover more about the healthy and sustainable community.
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About Serenbe
Founded by Steve Nygren and his family in 2004, Serenbe is a biophilic community connected to nature on the edge of Atlanta. The community of over 600 residents is set among acres of preserved forests and meadows with miles of nature trails that connect homes and restaurants with arts and businesses. Focused on wellbeing, Serenbe is a neighborhood with fresh food, over 300 year-round arts and cultural programming, independent shops, outdoor theatre, an Inn and multiple farm-to-table restaurants. The best reason to live here is the life here.
About Visionary Dinner
The Visionary Dinner raises awareness and funding for Southface’s continued work in high-performance affordable housing, green infrastructure, clean energy, healthy buildings and sustainable communities. Learn more at www.visionarydinner.org.
About Southface
Southface is the Southeast’s nonprofit leader in the promotion of sustainable homes, workplaces and communities through education, research, advocacy and technical assistance. Learn more at www.southface.org.
Media Contacts:
For more information about Southface or to arrange an interview with our President Andrea Pinabell, members of the media should contact: communications@southface.org.
