Friends of Ballona Wetlands Honor Karen and Ken Dial of Drollinger Family Charitable Foundation

Playa del Rey, CA (October 29, 2013) – Friends of Ballona Wetlands recently honored Karen and Ken Dial of the Drollinger Family Charitable Foundation at its annual Moonlight on the Marsh celebration.

The event, held on October 19 at the CenterPointe Club in Playa Vista, featured testimonials about the Dial’s philanthropy by U.S. Representative Maxine Waters, Los Angeles City Councilmember Mike Bonin, and representatives from the offices of State Senator Ted Lieu and Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe.

"We were very pleased to honor Karen and Ken Dial," remarked Dr. David W. Kay, president of the Friends of Ballona Wetlands board of directors. "They have made incredibly meaningful contributions to Friends of Ballona Wetlands, to other organizations associated with conserving the Wetlands, and to many other deserving community groups. We thank them for all they've done and look forward to continuing to work with them on issues central to the Wetlands' health. We also want to thank all of the elected representatives and their staff who participated in the event, not only for recognizing the contributions of the Dials, but also for acknowledging the important role that Ballona Wetlands play in sustaining the health of local ecosystems."

Over 200 people attended the event, and major sponsors included The Drollinger Family Charitable Foundation, The Southern California Gas Company, Loyola Marymount University, LSA Associates, Margery Nicolson, Nancy and John Edwards, Southern California Edison, The West Basin Municipal Water District, AECOM, The G2 Gallery, the Metropolitan Water District, PCR Services Corporation, Playa Vista Capital Company/Brookfield Residential Properties, The Swimmer Family Foundation, and RMC Water and Environment.

The mission of the Friends of Ballona Wetlands is to champion the science-based restoration and protection of the Wetlands, involving and educating the public as advocates and stewards. Friends' education efforts encompass all ages, from kindergarten to senior citizens. Each year the Friends host over 7,000 adults and children and partner with local Audubon chapters to educate an additional 2,000 upper elementary students during the school year. Over 500 tons of non-native plants and trash have been removed from the Wetlands by over 75,000 restoration volunteers since 1994.

The public is invited to tour the Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve with Friends docents at 1 PM on November 10, and/or participate in restoration work at 9:30 AM on November 23.  Both events convene Behind Gordon's Market on Culver Blvd. in Playa Del Rey.

Enjoy your Ballona Wetlands!

www.ballonafriends.org