Carson City resident honored posthumously

Carson City resident Charles Benjamin was honored by his colleagues from Western Resource Advocates, Nevadans for Clean Affordable Renewable Energy and family Jan. 25 at the Historic Fifth Street School in Las Vegas.

Benjamin, 60, died Dec. 13 after a battle with cancer.

Former Nevada Congresswoman Dina Titus addressed the group. Sen. Harry Reid's comments, which were read into the Congressional Record, were shared with those who attended to pay tribute to Benjamin. The Western Clean Energy Campaign presented the "Spirit of Community" award to Benjamin to recognize the difference he made in the state of Nevada.

A portion of Reid's comments were:

"During his time in Nevada, Charles worked tirelessly to promote clean energy by developing and strengthening relationships with key Nevada stakeholders, including utilities, the state's consumer advocate, legislators, the governor, business interests, and the environmental community. He was quite helpful to me in my efforts to diversify Nevada's economy through development of our state's vast renewable energy resources and to make Nevada energy independent.

"Charles was a feisty advocate for environmental justice and came to Nevada to help drive our state and the nation toward a cleaner energy future. To me, he was always courteous, honest and expressed his love for the environment. Nevada and the nation need more people like Charles who are willing to work hard to tap into the limitless resources of the sun, the wind and the earth, and energy efficiency, to build a stronger, cleaner and more sustainable world. He will be missed."

A tribute is planned for 5-7 p.m. Feb. 23 in a conference room at the Nevada State Library. For more information contact Charles' wife Christine Benjamin, 775-622-6511.