Read more about each individual by clicking on the year above that the award was given.
The Benton H. Box Award
2017 - Dr. Troy Hall, Head of Forest Ecosystems and Society Department at Oregon State University
2016 - Dr. Wayne Freimund, Professor and Chair, Park, Tourism and Recreation Management
2015 - Dr. Julian Agyeman, Professor of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning at Tufts University
2014 - Dr. John Seidensticker, Head of Conservation Ecology Center of Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute; Dr. Susan Lumpkin, Senior Writer/ Editor of the Global Tiger Initiative
2013 - Dr. Lee M. Talbot, Professor, Environmental Science and Policy Department, George Mason University
2012 - Dr. Reed F. Noss, Provost’s Distinguished Research Professor at the University of Central Florida and President of the Florida Institute for Conservation Science
2011 - Lawrence "Larry" Zehnder, Administrator, City of Chattanooga Parks and Recreation Department
2010 - Dr. Robert E. Manning, Professor in the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Vermont
2009 - Stephen R. Kellert, Yale University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Tweedy Ordway Professor of Social Ecology
2008 - Joseph W. Roggenbuck, Virginia Tech, Natural Resource Recreation, Department of Forestry, Professor Emeritus, Retired
2007 - Robert B. Ditton, Texas A&M University, Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, Professor, Retired
2006 - Myron F. Floyd, North Carolina State University, Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management, Professor
2004 - David Tonkyn, Tigers for Tigers Initiative, Clemson University, Faculty Advisor
2001 - Donald Field, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Departments of Forest Ecology and Management and Rural Sociology, Professor
2000 - Beverly L. Driver, USDA Forest Service, Retired
1998 - David W. Lime, National Park Service, Cooperative Park Studies Unit, University of Minnesota, Unit Leader
1997 - C. Thomas Wyche, Developer - Natureland Trust (Mountain Bridge)
1995 - Rabel J. Burdge, University of Illinois, Institute for Environmental Studies, Environmental Studies, Rural Sociology, Leisure Studies and Urban and Regional Planning, Professor
1994 - David W. Orr, Oberlin College, Ohio, Environmental Studies and Politics / Environmental Studies Program, Professor / Chair
The William C. Everhart Award
2016 - Julia Washburn, National Park Service Associate Director for Interpretation, Education, and Volumneets
2015 - Judy Braus, Executive Director of the North American Association for Environmental Education
2014 - Dr. Martha Monroe, Professor, University of Florida's School of Forest Resources and Conservation
2011 - David Larsen, in Memoriam - Interpretation and Education Training Manager for the Stephen F. Mather Training Center in Harpers Ferry, WV.
2010 - Shelton A. Johnson, Interpretive Ranger, Yosemite National Park
2009 - Dayton Duncan, Award-winning Writer and Documentary Filmmaker
2008 - Tim Merriman, National Association for Interpretation (NAI), Executive Director
2007 - Sam H. Ham, University of Idaho, College of Natural Resources, Dept. of Conservation Social Sciences (Center for International Training and Outreach/Communication Psycology and International Conservation), Director/Professor
2006 - Michael D. Watson, Mather Training Center, Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, Superintendent
2005 - Ted T. Cable Kansa State University, Park Management and Conservation, Asst. Department Head and Professor
2004 - James Mičulká, Amtrak/National Park Service Partnership Program, National Coordinator
2003 - Michael A. Allen, National Park Service, Fort Sumter National Monument, Fort Moutrie and Charles Pinckney National Historic Site, Education Specialist
2002 - Barbara Tagger, National Park Service, Southeast Region, Division of Interpretation and Visitor Services, National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom, Program Historian and Regional Coordinator
2001 - Rudy Mancke, NatureScene
2000 - Gerald J. Coutant, US Forest Service, Washington Office Branch, Chief for Interpretive Services
1998 - William C. Everhart, National Park Service, Harper's Ferry Center, Assistant to the Director for Policy
1996 - H. Jesse Grove, Clemson University, Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management, Professor, Deceased
1995 - Max Oelschlaeger, University of North Texas, Philosophy and Religion Studies, Professor
1994 - Ms. Pat Rose, Santa Barbara Ranger District, Los Padres National Forest, Recreation Technician
The Walter T. Cox Award
2017 - Dave Hallac, Superintendent of Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, and Wright Brothers National Memorial
2016 - Anne Springs Close, Chair, Springs Close Foundation / environmentalist and philanthropist
2015 - Brad Wyche, Executive Director at Upstate Forever
2014 - Dave Harmon, Executive Director of the George Wright Society
2013 - Phil Francis, Retired, National Park Service; Phil Gaines, Director, South Carolina State Park
2012 - Dan Wenk, Superintendent, Yellowstone National Park
2011 - Jonathan "Jon" B. Jarvis, 18th Director of National Park Service
2010 - Not given this year
2009 - Will LaPage, NAI Certified Interpretive, Guide and Trainer
2008 - Mary A. Bomar, 17th Director of National Park Service
2007 - Richard Louv, Author of seven books
2006 - Ronald H. Walker, Korn/Ferry International, Senior Partner
2005 - Van Stickles, South Carolina State Park Service, Director, Retired
2004 - Robert M. Utley, National Park Service, Retired, research and writing - specialty American West
2004 - William E. Brown, National Park Service, Alaska Region, Chief of Cultural Resources and Regional Historian, Retired
2003 - Dr. Margaret "Gina" McLellan, Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management, Clemson University, Associate Professor, Retired
2002 - Fran P. Mainella, 16th Director of National Park Service
2001 - H. Roger Hamilton, US Army Corps of Engineers, Waterways Experiment Station in Vicksburg, Mississippi, Chief of Resource Analysis
1998 - Gary Everhardt, National Park Service, Superintendent
1997 - Robert G. Stanton, 15th Director of National Park Service
1996 - Henry L. Diamond, Beveridge & Diamond Law Firm and Patrick F. Noonan Conservation Fund / American Farmland Trust / Ashland Inc. and International Paper Founder and Chairman / Founder / Director
1994 - Mario Boza, Caribbean Conservation Corporation, Mesoamerican Biological Corridor Project / National Park System of Costa Rica Director / Founder
The Fran P. Mainella Award
2017 - Sarah Milligan-Toffler, Executive Director of the Children & Nature Network
2015 - Priscilla E. Geigis, Director of the Massachusetts Division of State Parks and Recreation
2013 - Mary Gibson Scott, Retired Superintendent, Grand Teton National Park,
2012 - Given in alternate years
2011 - Co-recipients: Ruth Coleman, Director of California State Parks & Becky Kelly, Director of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources' Parks, Recreation & Historic Sites Division
2010 - Given in alternate years
2009 - Margaret "Peggy" Odell, National Park Service Regional Director, National Capital Region
2007 - Gayle Hazelwood, National Capital Parks - East, Washington, DC, Superintendent
2005 - Martha Bogle, Congaree National Park, Superintendent
2003 - Laura Rotegard, Blue Ridge Parkway, Management Assistant to the Superintendent
The Robert G. Stanton Award
2016 - Dr. Lavelle Merritt, Jr., National Park Service, Program Manager, ProRanger Program at Texas A&M University
2014 - Dr. Michael A. Allen, Community Partnership Specialist for The Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor/ Fort Sumter National Monument and Charles Pinckney National Historic Site
2013 - Given in alternate years
2012 - David Vela, Southeast Regional Director, National Park Service
2011 - Given in alternate years
2010 - Dr. Antoinette Lee, Assistant Associate Director, Historical Documentation Programs, National Park Service
2008 - Ernest Quintana, National Park Service, Midwest Regional Director
2006 - Joel A. Tutein, Christianstead National Historic Site, Buck Island Reef National Monument and Salt River National Historic Park and Ecological Preserve on St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, Superintendent
2004 - Charles R. Jordan, The Conservation Fund, Director
The Dwight A. Holder Award
2017 - Dr. Jeffrey Skibins, Assistant Professor of Park Management and Conservation at Kansas State University
2016 - Dr. Keenan Adams, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division Chief, Biological Resources for the Mountain Prarie Region
2015 - Dr. Wade Vagias, Management Assistant to the superintendent of Yellowstone National Park
2014 - Dr. Karen Waldrop, Deputy Commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources
2011 - Dr. Margaret "Gina" McLellan, Faculty Emeritus, Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management, Clemson University
2006 - Dr. Rudolph M. Schuster, State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Forest and Natural Resource Management, Assistant Professor
2003 - Dr. Kathy Mengak, Lives in Athens, GA; writing a book with Robert Utley on George Hartzog
2002 - Dr. Colmore S. Christian, Government of Dominica, Ministry of Tourism Industry and Enterprise Development, Permanent Secretary
1997 - Dr. Robert D. Bixler, Clemson University - Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management, Assistant Professor
1996 - Dr. Ingrid E. Schneider, University of Minnesota, Associate Professor and Dr. William E. Hammitt, Clemson University - Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management, Professor
1995 - Dr. M. Grant Cunningham, Clemson University, Department of Planning & Landscape Architecture, Associate Professor
1994 - Dr. C. Scott Shafer, Texas A&M University, Associate Professor
The Institute for Parks Distinguished Service Award
2016 - Ronald H. Walker, Inaugural Chairman of the Board of Advisors for the Institute for Parks at Clemson University; Senior Partner, Korn/Ferry International, the World's largest Executive Search Firm
