An Evening with the Champions of Conservation

In partnership with Visit Highlands, NC, G&G hosted its fifth annual Champions of Conservation event in Highlands, North Carolina, a place defined by the biodiverse freshwater systems surrounding the Eastern Continental Divide. The evening brought together the 2026 class of conservation leaders for conversations centered on the people working to protect the South’s wild places.

G&G senior vice president and editor in chief David DiBenedetto and digital reporter Lindsey Liles led an engaging dialogue at Trailborn Highlands surrounding the panelists’ groundbreaking work, as each Champion shared the story of their conservation efforts throughout the South and beyond. Following the conversation, guests gathered at Highlands Supper Club for a collaborative family-style dinner from guest chef William Dissen of The Market Place with wine pairings by Davis Family Vineyards.

Read more about 2026 Champions of Conservation here.

Special thanks to:
Visit Highlands, NC
Turtlebox Audio
Chef William Dissen
Highlands Supper Club
Trailborn Highlands
Davis Family Vineyards

October 7, 2026

presented by

Visit Highlands

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Champions and G&G editors (from left), including Jessica Mailliez, Sea & Shoreline Aquatic Restoration; DiBenedetto; Bo Baxter, Conservation Fisheries; Keri Lejune, Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries; Maria Whitehead, Open Space Institute; Phanor H. Montoya Maya, Coral Restoration Foundation; Josselyn Lucas, Natural Resources Conservation Service; Liles; Bonnie Monteleone, Plastic Ocean Project; Candace Fields, Cape Eleuthera Institute; and Amanda Heckert, G&G executive editor.

Photo: McSween Photography

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Johanna Fein, Highlands Chamber of Commerce executive director, and Bryan Lewis, Highlands Chamber of Commerce board chair and owner of Highlands Smokehouse.

Photo: McSween Photography

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Joe and Jenna Calhoun, Turtlebox Audio marketing director.

Photo: McSween Photography

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Champions during the conversation at Trailborn Highlands.

Photo: McSween Photography

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The tables are set at Highlands Supper Club.

Photo: McSween Photography

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Chef Dissen of The Market Place.

Photo: McSween Photography

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Dissen’s signature Ham Luge: a bite of caviar, followed by a shot of Woodford Reserve poured through Benton’s country ham and finished with shaved twenty-four-month Tennessee country ham.

Photo: McSween Photography

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Tim and Anne Norwood with Shelia Davis and Irv Kron.

Photo: McSween Photography

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Escort cards inspired by the freshwater and saltwater habitats at the heart of this year’s honorees’ conservation work.

Photo: McSween Photography

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Course two: smoked Sunburst trout with roasted beets, green goddess, and trout caviar, served with Davis Family Vineyards Estate Chardonnay, Russian River Valley 2024.

Photo: McSween Photography

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One last toast before calling it a night.

Photo: McSween Photography