The weather gods must have known that the greater conservation movement of the Eastern Shore was gathering on Friday night to honor Beverly and Richard Tilghman as the Horn Point Lab’s Chesapeake Champions for 2021.

With clear skies, no humidity, and 70-degree weather, over two hundred scientists, environmentalists, and patrons of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science gathered at the Tidewater Inn courtyard on Thursday to pay tribute to the Tilghmans and their legacy of land and water conservation over the years.

And in keeping with the Tilghmans ongoing support of Horn Point Lab students and their research, several of those grad students were able to highlight their work at the Dorchester campus. Those reports were both moving and encouraging as these young leaders outlined what their projects contributed to the health of the Chesapeake Bay and beyond.

But eventually, it was the Tilghmans turn to address the crowd, and our assigned spy was able to capture Richard’s remarks at the end of a very joyful moment for the Mid-Shore.

This video is approximately three minutes in length.