LAND ROVER ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF THE SECOND ANNUAL ‘DEFENDER SERVICE AWARDS’

14 November 2022

  • Land Rover has awarded five winning U.S. and Canadian charitable organization a custom Land Rover Defender 130 SUV to empower them to continue making a difference in their communities
  • Category sponsors, OUTSIDE Interactive Inc., ei3, Pelican, KONG, dentsu x each generously awarded $25,000 to their category winner.
  • Winning organizations recognized for work in five categories: Environmental and Conservation, Search and Rescue, Veterans Outreach, Animal Welfare, and Community Service.
  • Winners were announced at Destination Defender, presented by Chase, a premium weekend celebration curated for the Defender enthusiast with first and second place finalists all in attendance for the awards ceremony.
  • Category winners were chosen by public vote, with 220,000 votes cast for the 25 finalists.
  • For more information on Defender Service Awards, visit LandRoverUSA.com

(MAHWAH, N.J.) – November 14, 2022 ‑ Land Rover USA has announced the five winners of the second annual ‘Defender Service Awards’ presented by Chase during a celebratory event at Destination Defender in Saugerties, New York.  The event featured Defender inspired experiences including, live music, adventure activities, guest camping and glamping sites, learning seminars, heritage display, and an evening celebration announcing this year’s Defender Service Awards winners. First and second place finalists per category joined the celebration and shared their mission of service in front of an audience of over 400 attendees.

The charitable organizations listed below have been recognized for their outstanding service and unwavering loyalty to their local communities. The winners across the five categories, based on public vote are as follows:

1. Pelican Search and Rescue Award: Sauvetage Bénévole Outaouais ‑ Ottawa Volunteer Search and Rescue (Ottawa, ON)

Established in 1996, Sauvetage Bénévole Outaouais ‑ Ottawa Volunteer Search and Rescue (SBO‑OVSAR) is a federally incorporated, charitable, volunteer‑based search and rescue organization serving Western Quebec and Eastern Ontario. Their mission is to provide search and rescue services, assist communities during emergencies and deliver public education programs to help people enjoy the outdoors safely.

2. dentsu x Veterans Outreach Award: Patriot Service Dogs (Marion County, FL) 

Patriot Service Dogs trains service dogs for veterans without charge. Their dogs are trained to assist with issues such as PTSD, traumatic brain injuries, mobility issues, and military sexual trauma. They support all honorably discharged veterans who would benefit from a service dog.

3. KONG Animal Welfare Award: Appalachian Bear Rescue (Townsend, TN) 

Appalachian Bear Rescue (ABR) cares for orphaned and injured black bear cubs for return to their natural wild habitat; increases public awareness about coexisting with black bears; and studies all aspects of returning cubs to the wild. For over 26 years, they have cared for over 360 young bears from nine states and the National Park Service.

4. ei3 Community Services Award: Mercy Chefs (Portsmouth, VA) 

Mercy Chefs is a faith‑based, non‑profit disaster relief organization. Mercy Chefs exists to provide professionally prepared, restaurant‑quality meals and clean water to victims, volunteers, and first responders in natural disasters and national emergencies, and partners with existing like‑minded organizations to further their mission by providing food service in underserved communities across the country. Since its founding, Mercy Chefs has served over 20 million meals in 150 disasters, 29 states, and 12 countries. All of this has been done with the help of over 10,000 volunteers.

5.OUTSIDE Interactive, Inc. Environmental and Conservation Award: Green Lake Association (Green Lake, WI) Our lakes are in trouble. Human impacts and climate change continue to threaten our precious land and water resources. The Green Lake Association is a nonprofit organization committed to safeguarding the deepest natural inland lake in Wisconsin and modeling its approach for cleaner lakes within the Lake Michigan basin and across the globe. Pivotal accomplishments include restoring a brook trout species missing for 70 years and shrinking community alert times for harmful algal bloom from weeks to minutes. This small but powerful organization is setting a new standard for lake organizations that are tackling the greatest water quality challenges of our time.

The winning organizations will be awarded a custom Land Rover Defender 130 SUV that will aid them in executing their work with ease. The Defender 130 vehicle is all new for 2023, featuring three rows of seating for up to eight people and 88.9 cubic feet (2,516 liters) of load capacity. The Defender 130 vehicle is fully capable of assisting these organizations with transporting animals, gear or volunteers. 

Category sponsors, OUTSIDE Interactive Inc., ei3, Pelican, KONG, dentsu x each generously awarded $25,000 to their category winner.

Runners up didn’t go home empty handed, as Land Rover will award each of the 5 second place finalists with an additional $10,000. As the presenting sponsor, Chase, will donate $5,000 to each of the five finalists per category, totaling $125,000 in prize money to further recognize these organizations' incredible service works. 

Congratulations to each of the five winners of the Defender Service Awards. We hope that the capabilities of their customized Defender 130 vehicles, along with the monetary award will help them continue to serve their communities. The response from charitable organizations around the US and Canada was extraordinary and we thank all who took part.

Joe Eberhardt
President & CEO, Jaguar Land Rover North America.

To learn more about the 2022 Land Rover Defender and the Defender Service Awards Presented by Chase, please visit LandRoverUSA.com.  

Further information

About Land Rover

Founded in 1948, Land Rover designs and engineers its vehicles in the United Kingdom. For over 70 years the brand has built a reputation for providing its clientele with some of the most luxurious and capable vehicles in the world; whether driving through the heart of the city or traversing the countryside on‑ and off‑road. Today's Land Rover lineup includes the Defender; Discovery and Discovery Sport; Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, Range Rover Velar and Range Rover Evoque. Land Rover is fully engaged with sustainability initiatives and social concerns with continuous involvement in environmental and community programs. For more information, visit the official Land Rover website at www.landroverusa.com.

 

About Jaguar Land Rover: Reimagining the future of modern luxury by design

Jaguar Land Rover is reimagining the future of modern luxury by design through its distinct, British brands.

Our current model range embraces fully electric and mild‑hybrid vehicles, as well as the latest gasoline engines. Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles are in demand around the world and in Fiscal 2020/21 we sold 439,588 vehicles in 127 countries. Land Rover is the global leader of luxury SUVs through its three families of Range Rover, Discovery and Defender.

At heart we are a British company, with two major design and engineering sites, three vehicle manufacturing facilities, an Engine Manufacturing Centre and a Battery Assembly Centre in the UK. We also have vehicle plants in China, Brazil, India, Austria and Slovakia. Three of our seven technology hubs are in the UK – Manchester, Warwick (NAIC) and London – with additional sites in Shannon, Ireland, Portland, USA, Budapest, Hungary and Shanghai, China.

Central to our Reimagine strategy is the electrification of both the Land Rover and Jaguar brands with two clear, distinct personalities. All Jaguar and Land Rover nameplates will be available in pure electric form by the end of the decade. This marks the start of the company’s journey to become a net zero carbon business across its supply chain, products and operations by 2039.

As a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Motors since 2008, Jaguar Land Rover has unrivalled access to leading global players in technology and sustainability within the wider Tata Group.

 

Notes to Editors

Information about Land Rover North America products is available to consumers at www.landroverusa.com. Visit us.media.landrover.com for news releases, high‑resolution photographs and broadcast quality video footage. Additional media updates are available on Facebook (LandRoverUSA) and Twitter (@interactivelr).