Media & Press Office » Press Release
July 13th, 2010
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Actor and Environmentalist Matthew Modine to Attend Benefit Concert for Trees
Film, Television, and Broadway actor will attend concert to benefit the American Forest Foundation and TREE Fund
(CHICAGO)- Actor Matthew Modine, perhaps best known for his role in Full Metal Jacket and as founder of the “Bicycle For a Day” campaign, will be attending the “It’s Ours to Save—An Intimate Evening with Chuck Leavell” benefit concert for the American Forest Foundation and the Tree Research and Education Endowment (TREE) Fund, on July 17 at the Omni Chicago Hotel.
Modine, an avid environmentalist who recently served as the guest editor of Metro U.S. Newspaper’s Earth Day Edition, joins Rolling Stones keyboardist Chuck Leavell, a fellow conservationist and tree farmer in support of tree research.
The event is hosted by David Spero, a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Board of Directors, and is sponsored in part by STIHL, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, AllianceArtists Ltd, Bartlett Tree Experts, The Mansion on O Street, and AirTran.
Doors open at 6 p.m. for the event, at the Omni Chicago Hotel, 676 N. Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL. The three-hour benefit includes a dinner buffet and Leavell at the piano, with Spero providing commentary and opportunities for audience interaction. Tickets are $100. To purchase tickets visit https://regonline.com/trees or call Laura Tuel at 202-463-2585.
Modine has starred in more than 50 films. A partial list includes: Birdy, Married to the Mob, Vision Quest, Full Metal Jacket, Gross Anatomy, The Browning Version, Pacific Heights, Any Given Sunday, Memphis Belle, and Shortcuts.
Nominated for an Emmy for his work in the television film And the Band Played On, Modine has also appeared on the television dramas Weeds, The West Wing and Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. Currently, Modine recently completed the Broadway revival of The Miracle Worker at the Circle in the Square Theatre, in Manhattan, NY, and filming the drama The Trial. In 2004, Matthew starred in the Chicago Goodman Theatre premier of Arthur Miller’s “Finishing the Picture”.
Aside from his acting career, Modine works extensively with the “Bicycle For a Day” campaign, which informs and inspires individuals to make ecologically minded changes in their lifestyles to improve the environment and personal health.
The benefit concert precedes the official kickoff for America’s largest fundraiser for tree research, the STIHL Tour des Trees to benefit the TREE Fund. The Tour des Trees is a weeklong cycling event to raise money for the TREE Fund and awareness of the need for arboricultural research to keep our urban trees and forests healthy. The 2010 Tour departs from Chicago’s Millennium Park at 10 a.m. on July 18, travels 500 miles through northern Illinois and concludes in Chicago’s western suburbs with a one-day “Ride For Research” to The Morton Arboretum on July 24. The Tour launch and the Ride for Research are open to the public. To ride, volunteer or donate to either event, visit www.stihltourdestrees.org.
About The American Forest Foundation: The American Forest Foundation (AFF) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) conservation and education organization that strives to ensure the sustainability of America’s family forests for present and future generations. Our vision is to create a future where North American forests are sustained by the public that understands and values the social, economic, and environmental benefits they provide to our communities, our nation, and our world. www.forestfoundation.org.
About the TREE Fund:
The TREE Fund’s mission is to identify and fund projects and programs that advance knowledge in the field of arboriculture and urban forestry to benefit people, trees, and the environment.
The TREE Fund has supported research that has led to important developments in:
• Improving conditions for tree growth in difficult sites
• Implementing strategies to manage diseases and pests that affect urban trees
• Understanding air pollution reduction and carbon sequestration by trees
• Quantifying the costs and benefits of urban trees
For more information, visit www.treefund.org.
About STIHL Inc.:
STIHL Inc. manufactures the number one selling brand of gasoline-powered handheld outdoor power equipment in America for homeowners and professional landscapers*, as well as the number one selling brand of chain saws in the world. STIHL products are sold through servicing power equipment retailers from coast to coast— not mass merchants. STIHL products sold through U.S. STIHL dealers are for distribution in the United States only. For more information or for the name a local STIHL retailer, call toll free 1-800-GO STIHL (1-800-467-8445) or visit the dealer locator on the STIHL Web site at www.stihlusa.com.
*"Number one selling brand" is based on syndicated Irwin Broh Research (commercial landscapers) as well as independent consumer research of 2009 U.S. sales and market share data for the gasoline-powered handheld outdoor power equipment category combined sales to consumers and commercial landscapers.
STIHL is pleased to support the work of the Tree Research and Education Endowment Fund (TREE Fund), International Society of Arboriculture (ISA), the Tree Care Industry Association (TCIA), National FFA, Professional Landcare Network (PLANET), the American Tree Farm System (ATFS), and the National Association of State Park Directors.
