Philander Chase Conservancy honors Doug Givens and Lisa Schott with 2025 Jean S. Briggs Award

The Philander Chase Conservancy honored Doug Givens and Lisa Schott with the 2025 Jean S. Briggs Award for Leadership in Land Conservation during a special presentation at the Schnormeier Event Center on Thursday, Oct. 9.

The award, established in 2022, celebrates extraordinary leadership in conserving the natural beauty and rural character surrounding Gambier and Kenyon College. Named for Jean S. Briggs, a pioneering conservationist and the first landowner in Knox County to fully donate an agricultural easement, the award commemorates her lifelong commitment to preserving farmland and inspiring others to do the same.

Zali Win, chair of the conservancy’s board of trustees, presented the award during the organization’s 25th anniversary celebration, recognizing the foundational efforts of Givens and Schott, who served as the conservancy’s first two managing directors.

Givens, who led from 2000 to 2010, oversaw the acquisition of the Prescott property and its transformation into the Wolf Run Regional Park. He also helped establish the conservancy’s conservation easement program, including the protection of 373 acres at the Brown Family Environmental Center.

Schott, who led the conservancy from 2010 to 2022, played a key role in building trust with landowners, guiding new easements, and establishing innovative projects like the Kokosing Nature Preserve, the first green cemetery affiliated with a college land trust, and the Kenyon Farm, a student-focused agricultural initiative.

"Thank you, Doug and Lisa, for your many contributions and your extraordinary leadership in protecting the natural beauty, health and vibrancy of the rural lands surrounding Gambier and Kenyon College," said Win.

The evening also featured remarks from Amy Henricksen, current director of the conservancy, who emphasized the importance of voluntary land conservation and thanked local landowners for partnering in the protection of farms, forests, and open space.

"Our land conservation work would not be possible without our many wonderful partners, and most importantly our easement grantors and landowners who voluntarily partner with our county’s land trusts to conserve their farms, woodlands, and open space land in perpetuity," Henricksen said.

The celebration, hosted in partnership with the Owl Creek Conservancy and Ariel-Foundation Park Conservancy, included a free community concert by Vaughn Wiester’s Famous Jazz Orchestra and commemorated several regional conservation milestones, including the 25th anniversaries of the Philander Chase and Owl Creek Conservancies, the 30th anniversary of the Knox County Park District, and the 10th anniversary of the Kokosing Nature Preserve.