Volunteer Spotlight: Roger Diedrich
Roger Diedrich — Mr. Virginia Chapter — Dedicated Volunteer and Mentor
by Charles Price
So you don’t know all the things that Roger’s involved in. You say he’s laid back and closed mouth about what he’s doing. Fact is, he’s too busy to tell you what he’s up to. For openers, you should know that Roger is nearing his 33rd year of continuous membership in the Sierra Club.
“Mr. Virginia Chapter” received a B.S. in mechanical engineering from University of North Dakota in 1967. He earned a Masters in cybernetic systems from San Jose State University in 1972. Roger worked three years for the Aerospace Division of Douglas Aircraft before earning his Masters degree. After completing his M.S. in 1972, Roger married Mary Eckert and moved to Northern Virginia where he worked for the Bureau of Mines on energy data, forecasting and reporting. His Bureau of Mines group was merged into the U.S. Department of Energy in 1977. Thereafter, Roger analyzed data on renewable energy and nuclear power until he retired in 2003.
Roger joined Sierra Club in 1972 in California. After moving to Virginia, he became active in 1974 with the Inner City Outings program in Arlington. Around 1978, he joined the Metropolitan Washington Group (Potomac Chapter). When the Washington group moved to the Virginia Chapter in the 1980s, Roger represented it on the executive committee. He has been active in the Virginia Chapter ever since.
Among his many roles and accomplishments, Roger organized the Mount Vernon Group in 1985, and was its chair for two years. He also was MVG’s conservation chair. In 2000, Roger moved his membership to the Great Falls Group and revitalized that group, serving as chair for two years. He continues to work with Great Falls on Smart Growth and Cool Cities issues.
In the 1980s, Roger was appointed Virginia Chapter solid waste chair and served also as conservation chair from 1993-97. In 2003, he was elected chapter chair and served four terms. Roger currently serves as smart growth and transportation chair, waste chair, on the personnel committee, is “Emeritus Everything” and mentor to us all.
Roger’s National Sierra Club roles include his appointment, in 1990, to the national Solid Waste Committee, on which he served six years. Sierra Club’s policy on waste was rewritten during that time. He was then appointed to the Environmental Quality Strategy Team (EQST), an administrative entity that managed eight
national issues committees. Roger chaired EQST until 2009, when it was phased out under the club’s “Project Renewal.”
With the sunset of EQST, Roger became chair of the national Zero Waste Team. In recognition of his boundless commitment to protect the environment through his outstanding, lifelong service to Sierra
Club, in 1990, Roger was awarded the prestigious Susan Miller Award. In 2007, he was presented a special Virginia Chapter Award recognizing his 30 years of service.
In addition to his outstanding environmental work and lifelong commitment to Sierra Club, perhaps Roger’s best contribution has been his example as a dedicated leader and tireless worker to protect and save our planet. He has advised, assisted, or mentored nearly every leader in the Virginia Chapter over the past 20 years. For all this, the title of “Mr. Virginia Chapter” is unquestionably his, and richly deserved.
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