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| 5/1/2009 1:38:00 PM | Email this article • Print this article |
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| Ely business owner Steve Piragis has been honored by the Minnesota DFL Party. Photo by Anne Swenson |
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State DFL party awards Piragis
by Tom Coombe
Ely business owner Steve Piragis has been honored by the Minnesota DFL Party for his work and advocacy on environmental issues.
Piragis won the DFL's 2009 Willard Munger Award for Distinguished Environmental Stewardship, and was recognized during the party's Hubert H. Humphrey Day Dinner last month in Minneapolis.
"There is no doubt that Steve Piragis has spent his life working for betterment of our environment, and as a result, all of our lives," DFL Chairman Brian Melendez said in a statement released last week.
Piragis, a board member of the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy and a longtime environmental activist, said that receiving the award "was one of the greatest thrills of my life."
"It's a pretty humbling thing," said Piragis.
Named after late Duluth DFL legislator Willard Munger, a champion for environmental causes, the state party honor is a lifetime achievement award of sorts, and Piragis has worked on numerous fronts to protect the environment.
"Steve Piragis has truly been a leader in working to ensure that our environment is protected and cared for," said Melendez.
Piragis, along with his future wife Nancy, came to Ely from New England in 1975 to work for the Environmental Protection Agency on Shagawa Lake.
He started the Piragis Northwoods Company four years later, selling energy saving products and woodstoves at first but soon expanding to canoes and paddling gear.
Today, the company has a downtown storefront as well as a catalog that is sent eight times per year to more than 200,000 customers.
For the last decade-and-a-half, the company has offered canoe trips exploring locations including Alaska, Europe, Asia, South America, Greenland, Iceland and the Bahamas.
A business trip to the Bahamas caused Piragis to miss the Humphrey Day Award presentation at the Minneapolis Hilton. His daughter Elli - a freshman at St. Thomas - accepted the award.
Piragis has been involved in numerous environmental organizations, including Northeastern Minnesotans for Wilderness and the MCEA.
Earlier, Piragis was named a "Hero for the Environment" by the Wilderness Society, and he has taken an active role locally in the formation of Energy Efficient Ely (E3), a group that is promoting the pursuit of alternative energy projects in the region.
And despite prevalent support from area and state leaders for a series of proposed new mining ventures in northeastern Minnesota, Piragis has been one of the loudest local skeptics.
Piragis has questioned the environmental impact of potential copper-nickel mines in the region, as well as the proposed mines' proximity to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
"The rush to harvest profits now could cost our society in more than one way," said Piragis.
Piragis said he hoped that the DFL recognition would "open some doors" for E3 in its attempts to advance alternative energy options in Ely. He also pledged to follow in Munger's footsteps.
"He not only was there to talk the talk but he was there to walk the walk," said Piragis. "That's a legacy I'll do my best to live up to."
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Reader Comments
Posted: Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Article comment by:
Eric Marleau
Steve,
You still are a stink'n Flower Sniffer, but congratulations partner.
Eric Marleau
Proud Member of the Ely 10!!
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