NACD Honors Conservation Award Recipients

Last night, during the 2018 Annual Meeting Appreciation Banquet, NACD honored award recipients for their dedication to protecting and preserving natural resources across the country.

The first award of the night was the inaugural Hugh Hammond Bennett Excellence in Conservation Award, received by Dorn Cox (pictured above, left, with President Brent Van Dyke) of Lee, N.H. Cox serves as a county supervisor and vice-chair of the Strafford County Conservation District and is vice president of the New Hampshire Association of Conservation Districts.

The NACD/NRCS Olin Sims Conservation Leadership Award is presented annually to an individual, district or organization that has gone above and beyond in promoting conservation on private lands. This year’s award was presented by NRCS Acting Chief Leonard Jordan to Kris Swartz of Wood SWCD.

The NACD Friend of Conservation Award recognizes an individual, business, organization or agency for outstanding contributions to conserving our nation’s natural resources. NACD Past President Gene Schmidt presented this year’s award to Case IH and Patricia Lardie.

NACD’s Distinguished Service award recognizes someone who has made significant contributions to the conservation of our natural resources. This year’s winner is Ken Leiting of the New Mexico Association of Conservation Districts (NMACD) of Rio Ranch, N.M.

The NACD President’s Award was presented to Debbie Hughes, executive director of the New Mexico Association of Conservation Districts (NMACD).

Earlier that day, NRCS Acting Chief Jordan and NACD President Brent Van Dyke presented Monroe County SWCD in Indiana with the 2017 Earth Team Award.

For more information on NACD’s annual awards, visit the NACD Awards webpage; more information on the award winners is available here.

NACD Annual Meeting Attendees Donate Conservation Books to Local School

During Wednesday morning's meeting of the NACD Board of Directors, NACD and the Tennessee Association of Conservation Districts (TACD) presented representatives from Dodson Branch School in Jackson County, Tenn., with donated books for their library as part of the Pack-A-Book program. These conservation-related books will be enjoyed by the 290 Pre-K to eighth grade students of Dodson Branch for years to come. Thank you to all of our meeting attendees who brought books or provided monetary donations to help make this possible!

NACD Chooses Next President-Elect

During yesterday's meeting of the Board of Directors, NACD leadership elected First Vice President Tim Palmer of Truro, Iowa, as the association's next President-Elect. Prior to his term as First Vice President, Palmer served as the North Central Region Representative on NACD's Executive Board. To read more on Palmer's election, click here.