Rayonier Awards Grants to 47 Nonprofit Organizations in Nassau County

WILDLIGHT, Fla. – Rayonier is pleased to announce that $138,000 has been awarded to 47 local nonprofit organizations across Nassau County. Recipients of the grants were recognized at a special awards breakfast held at the FSCJ Betty P. Cook Nassau Center.

The recipients will use the funds to address a range of community needs, including civic, cultural, educational, environmental, natural resources, and health and human services programs.

“These organizations are instrumental in improving the health and well-being of Nassau County families and residents,” said Mark Hebert, vice president of Eastern Forest Resources for Rayonier. “We have been embedded in this community for more than 85 years and are proud to support and recognize the tireless efforts of this year’s recipients.”

Present at the awards breakfast were Commissioner Jeff Gray (Chairman, District 3), Commissioner Klynt Farmer (Vice-Chairman, District 5), Commissioner A.M. “Hupp” Huppman (District 2), Commissioner Alyson McCullough (District 4), and Ocean, Highway and Port Authority Commissioner Mike Cole (District 5). Also in attendance were Superintendent Dr. Kathy K. Burns and board member Gail Cook (District 2) from the Nassau County School District, Nassau County Economic Development Board Executive Director Sherri Mitchell, and Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper.

“I love seeing the County’s corporate residents, neighbors and officials supporting the important work that our non-profit community does for Nassau County,” said Commissioner Klynt Farmer. “It’s truly a testament to why people aspire to raise a family here. Our community is made up of some of the most loving, caring and charitable people in the state of Florida and I’m proud to call Nassau my home.”

Through its community fund, Rayonier provided grants to the following organizations and projects in Nassau County in 2022:

• Amelia Island Book Festival
• Amelia Island Museum of History
• American Business Women’s Association
• American Heart Association
• American Red Cross of NE Florida
• Arts Alive Nassau, Inc.
• Baptist Health Foundation
• Barnabas Center Inc
• Big Brothers Big Sisters NEFL
• Blue Fire Theatre
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Nassau County
• Boys Scouts of America, North Florida Council
• Community Hospice & Palliative Care
• Elm Street Sportsman Association
• Family Support Services of North Florida
• Fernandina Beach High School Foundation
• Ferst Readers of Nassau County
• First Coast Healing Hands, Inc
• Florida Forestry Foundation
• Folds of Honor Amelia Island
• Institute for Enterprise Inc.
• Jacksonville Arboretum & Botanical Gardens
• Keep Nassau Beautiful
• Les DeMerle Amelia Island Jazz Festival
• Nassau County 4H Association
• Nassau County Council on Aging, Inc
• Nassau County Sheriff’s Office Charities
• Nassau Education Foundation
• Nassau Habitat for Humanity, Inc
• Nassau Humane Society
• Nassau Racial Equality Coalition
• Northeast Florida Fair Association
• School Board of Nassau County: All Pro Dads
• Starting Point Behavioral Healthcare
• St. Marys Riverkeeper
• Take Stock in Children of Nassau County
• The Arc Nassau
• The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
• The Salvation Army - Hope House
• The U.S. Constitution Scholarship Foundation
• Traders Hill Farm
• Trinity Love Hoblit Foundation
• University of Florida / IFAS Extension
• Veterans Council of Nassau County
• West Nassau Historical Society
• Westside Optimist Club
• YMCA of Florida's First Coast

 
About Rayonier
Rayonier (NYSE:RYN) is a leading timberland real estate investment trust with assets located in some of the most productive softwood timber growing regions in the United States and New Zealand.  We own or lease under long-term agreements approximately 2.7 million acres of timberlands. We are More than trees because we recognize that our 90+ years of success in the timberland industry comes from our people, an empowering culture and the courage to constantly challenge “the way it’s always been done.” Get to know us at www.rayonier.com. 

Wes Hinton, VP, Wildlight; Rhett Rogers, VP, Portfolio Management for Rayonier; Mike Bell, VP, Public Affairs and Communications for Rayonier; and Mark Bridwell, VP, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for Rayonier present grant to Janice Ancrum, President and CEO, Council on Aging, and Scott Brown, Development Director, for Council on Aging.

Wes Hinton, VP, Wildlight; Rhett Rogers, VP, Portfolio Management for Rayonier; Mike Bell, VP, Public Affairs and Communications for Rayonier; and Mark Bridwell, VP, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for Rayonier present grant to Emily Baumgartner, Treasurer; John Hendricks, President; and Debbie Stokes, Board Member, for West Nassau Historical Society.

Kim Sartor, Community Affairs Manager for Rayonier and Mike Bell, VP, Public Affairs and Communications for Rayonier present contribution to Nidhi Every, Senior Development Officer for Community Hospice & Palliative Care Foundation.

Rayonier Community Affairs Manager, Kim Sartor, presents grant to Bonnie and Les DeMerle for the Les DeMerle Amelia Island Jazz Festival.

Thea Seagraves, Amelia Island Museum of History’s education director, accepts grant from Kim Sartor, Community Affairs Manager for Rayonier.