John McCarthy, principal at GRAEF, was honored as a Leader Making A Difference by the Rotary Club of Milwaukee at its lunch meeting at the War Memorial Center on Tuesday.
McCarthy was recognized for his work which was integral to the successful development of the Milwaukee Rotary Centennial Arboretum. The Arboretum opened to the public on Sept. 28th.
Dan Davis, chair of the Arboretum Implementation Task Force, said, “As the project engineer, John McCarthy’s work on the Arboretum has been invaluable. With so many partners, so many cooks in the Arboretum kitchen, the design changed many times. John McCarthy donated his time, some on weekends, much with the support of GRAEF, and patiently and promptly responded to the numerous changing ideas and circumstances. Ultimately he produced a design that was both visionary and buildable. He also helped deal with the complexity of having 10 different entities owning land or facilities within this work zone — always with grace and humility.”
In his honor, the Rotary Club of Milwaukee made a donation to the Urban Ecology Center’s Deep Roots: Native Tree and Plant Sponsorship Program and a tree will be planted in his name.
