Read more about each individual by clicking on the year above that the award was given.
The Benton H. Box Award
2020 - Kelly S. Bricker, Ph.D., Professor and Chair of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism at the University of Utah and John W. Day Jr., Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, and College of the Coast and Environment at Louisiana State University
2019 - Dr. Ryan L. Sharp, Assistant Professor of Park Management and Conservation at Kansas State University, and Dr. Stephen C. Trombulak, Professor Emeritus of Biology and Biosphere Studies at Middlebury College
2018 - Stephen F. McCool, Usiversity of Montana College of Forestry and Conservation, Department of Society and Conservation, Professor Emeritus, Wildland Recreation Management
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
2019 - Dr. Carolyn Ward, CEO, Blue Ridge Parkway
2018 - Nicole M. Ardoin, Stanford University, Associate Professor
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
2020 - Kerri Cahill, Ph.D., Branch Chief of the National Park Service’s Denver Service Center Planning Division
2019 - David Vela, Deputy Director exercising the authority of the Director, National Park Service
2018 - Stan Austin, National Park Service, Regional Director, Pacific West Region
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
2019 - Chris Lehnertz, President & CEO, Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy
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
2020 - George McDonald, Chief Director of Youth Programs at the National Park Service (NPS)
2018 - Brent Leggs, Director of the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund
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
2020 - Paul Leonard, Ph.D., Science Coordinator for the Arctic Program of the US Fish & Wildlife Service in Fairbanks, Alaska
2019 - Dr. Jennifer Thomsen, Assistant Professor of Park, Recreation and Tourism Management, University of Montana
2018 - Lauren S. Pile, USDA Forest Service, Research Ecologist, Northern Research Station in Columbia, Missouri
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 Prairie 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
