ArcaMax

Washington's "tech bros" dominate the news with how they use their wealth to influence politics. It's easy to forget that some leaders of industry actually use their success to contribute to causes with an eye on the greater good. I'm not just talking about billionaires such as Bill Gates, who recently announced that his foundation will give away more than $200 billion over the next 20 years.

It's why I wanted to talk to CJ Jackson, the executive director of the Sam Shine Foundation in New Albany, Indiana. The foundation has supported the restoration and conservation of more than 80,000 acres of land in five states.

The Sam Shine Foundation was born from the late Sam Shine and his wife Betty's business SAMTEC, which stands for "Sales and Manufacturing of Technical Electronic Components." The business launched in 1976 and now operates in more than 40 locations globally. Manufacturing and nature conservation may seem like a paradox to many, but not to the Shines.

Sam was raised on Indiana farmland, where he also enjoyed quail hunting as a boy. Living off the fat of the land was integral in Sam's understanding of humans' interaction with our land. As SAMTEC grew, Sam saw the natural areas he grew up loving dwindle around him. Development swallowed open green spaces, and it affected Sam to watch land get chopped up and divided by a new interstate system. "He didn't know what to do exactly," CJ said. "He just knew something needed to be done."

Sam sought ways to help. He leaned on the expertise of The Nature Conservancy, an organization advancing lasting conservation efforts all over the world. Sam and his wife vacationed in Florida during the winter months and volunteered in the panhandle region, where ecological damage was immense due to overly aggressive timber harvests. He joined The Nature Conservancy boards in both Florida and Indiana. "His approach to things was to be active and learn," CJ said.

In the mid-1990s, Sam retired and his son took over the day-to-day operations of SAMTEC. Sam continued to collaborate with The Nature Conservancy but also founded his own organization in 1995. The endowment-supported Sam Shine Foundation became his encore career.

The foundation identifies and purchases land of ecological importance and collaborates with scientists, state entities and environmental organizations to restore the land. The goal is to address ecological concerns through collaborations. Once restored, the foundation donates the property to the city, state or an organization with a conservation easement included that legally and permanently limits uses of the land.

In a time when privatization of public lands is a real threat to many community green spaces and our national parks, the results of the Sam Shine Foundation are astonishing.

One project culminated in a donation of restored 15,000 acres to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. "That was the largest donation in the state of Florida's history from private to public," CJ said. "It was pretty remarkable."

Another project involved purchasing a parcel of property along a river in Corydon, Indiana. The foundation partnered with other private property owners to remove four dangerous low-head dams along the river. After the dams were removed, the parcel that the foundation purchased was donated to the city and will soon be transformed into a public park.

The Sam Shine Foundation also established the Buffalo Trace Land Trust, and no, it has nothing to do with the bourbon of the same name. It's named for the traditional travelway of the buffalo, which yes, traveled through this part of the country. The land trust oversees almost 2,000 acres in Indiana that the Sam Shine Foundation permanently holds. These spaces are used for continuing education and research collaboration efforts.

"The land services the people," CJ said. This is the foundational truth that drives work that originated with Sam and Betty Shine. In the process, "We're making a better environment for everybody," CJ said. You can call it conservation, or land restoration, but it really comes down to lifting communities, helping people and "allowing that to be a service to a better citizenry."

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Do you know anyone who's doing cool things to make the world a better place? I want to know. Send me an email at Bonnie@WriterBonnie.com. Check out Bonnie's weekly YouTube videos at https://www.youtube.com/bonniejeanfeldkamp. To find out more about Bonnie Jean Feldkamp and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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