CBF Honors Sen. Cardin With Clean Water Legacy Award in DC

Last night, Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) President and CEO Hilary Harp Falk was pleased to honor Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin with CBF’s Clean Water Legacy Award at its 2024 DC on the Half Shell gala.

CBF was joined by more than 600 top philanthropists, lawmakers, and community leaders on March 18, 2024, at Union Market as the organization honored Sen. Cardin’s extraordinary efforts to restore and protect the Chesapeake Bay. DC on the Half Shell is CBF’s most important event in the nation’s capital. 

“Whether advocating for Maryland fisheries, promoting environmental education, or ensuring federal support for Bay research and restoration, Sen. Cardin’s career has been one legislative victory for clean water after another,” Falk said. 

“CBF is proud to honor Sen. Cardin’s enduring legacy as a devoted clean water champion, not only for the Bay and its tributaries, but for the entire country. We are deeply grateful for decades of leadership and dedication,” Falk added. 

Sen. Cardin has advocated for the Bay since he began his public service career in 1967 in the Maryland House of Delegates. From his work on the original Chesapeake Bay Agreement in the early 1980s to his recent success securing historic funding increases for the federal Chesapeake Bay Program, Sen. Cardin has never wavered in his commitment to saving our region’s greatest natural resource. 

“It’s an honor to receive the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Clean Water Legacy Award. I’ve dedicated my career to improving the health of our watershed because of its direct and existential impact on the communities and wildlife it serves as home and habitat. For nearly six decades, I’ve proudly supported the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s efforts to protect our treasured Bay,” Sen. Cardin said.  

“The Chesapeake Bay is the heart of Maryland’s identity and economy, and the success of our state, region and nation relies on its sustainability. In the Senate and beyond, I will remain fully committed to continuing the work to improve the health of the Bay and its local rivers and streams so that it remains a national treasure for future generations,” Sen. Cardin said. 

DC on the Half Shell guests spent the evening listening to live music, enjoying gourmet cuisine, sampling local oysters, and most importantly, celebrating Sen. Cardin’s decades of achievements in the fight for a cleaner, healthier Bay. 

The biennial event spotlighted the Bay’s most critical natural filter, the oyster. Oyster farmers from around the region served an assortment of the finest (and sustainably grown) oysters the Bay and its rivers have to offer. Guests also enjoyed hors d'oeuvres, a full buffet dinner, and dessert.