Buddy Amos Award 2022-2023
George H. “Buddy” Amos, Jr. (1934-1990), a native of Tucson and the owner of Tucson Realty and Trust Co., believed in giving back to the community that he loved so much and imparted that spirit upon his family and those around him.
A natural fundraiser, it was hard for him to turn down requests to spearhead donation drives. He could often be found with other community leaders, “dialing for dollars” in a phone bank at Jim Click’s Automotive Group.
Phil Amos remembered that as time went on, his father was growing increasingly concerned about sustaining the good work the local nonprofits were doing to benefit the community.
“He was afraid that people were getting tired of the calls,” recalled Phil, who was in college at the time.
The answer to the merry-go-round of raising-and-spending-and-raising-and-spending came when Buddy learned about the community foundation model: charitable contributions are pooled to strategically address local needs that one individual cannot solve on his/her own.
In 1980, Buddy, along with James “Jim” Burns, Edward R. Moore, Jim Click, Jr. and F. Grainger Weil, created a community endowment organization that they called the Greater Tucson Area Foundation and laid out a framework for investment. Today, with almost $200,000,000 in assets and grants totaling over $14,000,000 a year, the organization they started more than 35 years ago has grown beyond their wildest dreams and is facilitating giving, effectively changing lives, and creating impact every single day.
On April 29th 2015 to honor his vision and ability to inspire, the Buddy Amos Founders Award was created and given to the Amos Family by the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona’s 35th Anniversary event. Phil and Hank accepted the award on behalf of their father and the entire family.
2023 Award Recipient – Ron Pulliam
The Community Foundation for Southern Arizona is pleased to announce that Ron Pulliam, founder of Borderlands Restoration Network in Patagonia, Arizona, has been selected as the recipient of the 2023 Buddy Amos Founders Award.
Ron is a Regents Professor Emeritus at the Eugene P. Odum School of Ecology at the University of Georgia. His previously served as President of the Ecological Society of America, Director of the National Biological Service, Science Advisor to the Secretary of Interior, and Director of the Institute of Ecology. He has published over 200 scientific articles and books on niche theory, foraging and flocking behavior, source sink dynamics, the protection of endangered species, and the effects of climate and land use on plant and animal abundance and distribution.
Ron has also served on numerous boards and commissions, as an advisor to several major philanthropic foundations, and as chairman of the board of NatureServe. He is the recipient of the Distinguished Service Award from the Ecological Society of America and the Distinguished Landscape Ecologist Award from the International Association for Landscape Ecology.
The Borderlands Restoration Network (BRN) began as an idea around a kitchen table and has since grown to include the 1800-acre Borderlands Wildlife Preserve which is open to the public, a large-scale nursery that provides native plants for restoration efforts, and an innovative summer program that employs youth in multiple communities to learn restoration and leadership skills while completing restoration projects on public and private lands.
Learn more about Ron and the 2023 Buddy Amos Founders Award.