Past Minnesota Community Forestry Award Recipients

2015 Award Recipients

Leadership Award - Jim Ostvig for leadership, management, and organization of "The Day of Service" honoring our Veterans.

Leadership - Gail Nozal for quiet leadership in All Things Minnesota Community Forestry

Outstanding Volunteer Service Award - Minnesota Community Forestry Act Team for commitment to the Minnesota Community Forestry Act.  Jim Vaughn, Ken Holman, Kevin McDonald, Jeff Hafner, Karen Zumach, Tim Power, Sarah Rudolph, Michael Orange

Innovation Award - MSA Women's Conference Committee for finally planning the Inaugural Women's Conference
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Treescaping Award - City of La Cresent for their replanting efforts

Practitioners Award of Excellence - Jeff Jepson for having a worldwide impact on the Practice of Arboriculture

Toothless Saw - Lara Newberger for her amazing attitude, constant smile, and ease of laughter 

2014 Award Recipients

MSA President's Award
  • Gail Nozal - Presented October 2014 at the MSA fall conference

Outstanding Volunteer Service Award  
Treescaping Award
Outstanding Project Award
Practitioners Award of Excellence
Leadership Award
  • Peter MacDonagh - Advocating so Passionately for Trees

Innovation Award
Toothless Saw
  • Ken Holman - For his continued weight-loss program

2007 Award Recipients

2013 Recipients

Volunteer Service Award
  • Glen Hambleton - Glen worked on a Best Planting Practices guide for Minnesota along with Cameron Kytonen, the city forester of Andover. The project included review of scientific literature and survey of practitioners. There was no financial gain; it was a labor of love for trees.  Glen is a trained Tree Care Advisor and has logged more than 1,000 hours in local and state projects. He serves on committees including the MnSTAC Board of Directors, and assists with forums and seminars. He throws his spirit into outreach whenever he can.
  • Frogtown Tree Frogs - The City of Saint Paul Forestry Section forged a partnership with the group now known as the Frogtown Tree Frogs, with the goal to increase tree canopy cover on private property in Frogtown. Arbor Day in Frogtown is a model for all Arbor Day celebrations in Saint Paul, with the Arborators Band providing music, local healthy food advocates offering food cooking demonstrations, artists providing children’s crafts and the annual creation of the Dale Street Pop-up Tree Park. Without the commitment from the Tree Frogs a similar partnership in another neighborhood may not have lasted three years.

Treescaping Award 
  • Barb Spears - Barb is recognized for a residential tree inventory and tree planting project. Working on a shoe-string budget, she trained 25 of her neighbors (plus two Tree Care Advisors, two kids and two dogs) to identify measure and inventory the trees in their neighborhood. Following the inventory, Barb hustled for every donation dollar she could find and in the autumn of 2010, she spear-headed the purchase of 61 Minnesota-native trees representing five different species. She will continue with a status check and report in 2014.

Outstanding Project Award
  • Gina Hugo, Sherburne County Soil & Water Conservation District - Gina is said to have accomplished 20 years worth of community engagement and preparedness work last year in the Sherburne County cities of Big Lake, Becker, Elk River, Princeton and Zimmerman.

Outstanding Project Award
  • Cheryl Culbreth, CEO of Landscape Restorations - While busting buckthorn in Minnetonka, Cheryl innovated a handy tool that makes cut stump treatment of woody undesired plants such as buckthorn effective, handy, clean and efficient by applying the herbicide exactly where it needs to go; no heavy tanks or spill able cups in the woods. Cheryl gladly seizes any opportunity to educate people about buckthorn and garlic mustard management.

Practitioner’s Award of Excellence
  • Chad Giblin, University of Minnesota - Chad is recognized for excellence in elm research and outreach. He wrote the definitive tome on nurturing young and scrawny elms into towering and healthy canopies. “Pruning Young Elms” was authored by Chad in 2010, and he is currently working on a new edition. Chad is a highly sought-after speaker on elms and elm care in the eastern half of the US and regularly assists communities, tree care companies and volunteers with practical, field classes on elm planting and care. His love for elms carries the spirit of Dave French and the passion of Mark Stennes.

Leadership Award 
  • Jim Vaughan, City of St. Louis Park - Jim is being recognized for dedicated service to Minnesota community forestry. His dedicated service to the committees and boards of both the Minnesota Society of Arboriculture and the Minnesota Shade Tree Advisory Committee, including the Minnesota chapter liaison to the International Society of Arboriculture’s Council of Representatives are examples of the influence and involvement that we all should follow if we truly want Minnesota to be a national example for urban forestry. It’s hard to find a year when Jim isn’t part of a committee, sub-committee, ad-hoc committee or volunteer group on some tree care project. There are few members of MSA or MnSTAC who have been more involved than Jim during the last couple of decades. Jim is respected for his thoughtful perspectives on so many issues.

Innovation Award
  • No Award for 2013

Toothless Saw
  • No Award for 2014

2006 Award Recipients

Outstanding Volunteer of the Year Award:
Bernie Anderson - For Leadership in New Richland Tree Plantings and Tree Board Contributions.

Stewardship Award:
Representative Diane Loffler - For spearheading the forum on Community Forestry in New Ulm to bring
awareness to forestry issues in their town - leading to the formation of a tree board.

Stewardship Award:
Mayor R.T. Rybak - For Leadership and Commitment to Urban Forestry.

Outstanding Volunteer Project Award:
Fred Rozumalski And Barr Engineering Volunteers - For the Minnetonka Natural Resources Stewardship Program

Outstanding Youth Project :
Matt Stone - For the Wadena's Walking Tree Memorial Lane

Outstanding Arbor Day Celebration:
Spruce Up Austin - For the 150 Heritage Tree Project

Outstanding Partnership Award:
Mayor R.T. Rybak And Tree Trust - For Minneapolis City Trees Project.
Outstanding Volunteer of the Year Award:
Jane Klein - For her passionate contribution of over 550 hours as Tree Care Advisor and Founding Oakdale Tree Board Member.

Outstanding Partnership Award:
Hutchinson Utilities Commission and City of Hutchinson - For the Energy Tree Planting Project which exemplifies Hutchinson Utilities commitment to the communities forest through cooperation with City Forestry.

Stewardship Award:
The City of Red Wing - For the Urban Forest Management Program, building capacity through education, tree management and systematic tree maintenance.

Sponsorship Award:
Ann G. Salovich - For sponsoring and supporting the Tree Production Research at the University of Minnesota, TRE nursery.

Innovation Award:
Bonestroo and Tree Trust  - For the City Tree Sustainability guidelines and Best Practices.

Outstanding Arbor Day Celebration:
Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board - For “Branching out to Our Community” through the planting of 200 trees at Powderhorn Park and bringing together multiple partners of diverse interests.
 
Outstanding Media Award:
Austin Daily Herald - For 18 years of supporting “Spruce Up Austin” with monthly articles, annual Arbor Day Tabloid, promotions of programs and news coverage of events.

Outstanding Community Forestry Maintenance Award:
State of Minnesota Department of Administration, Grounds Services - 
For WWII Memorial at the State Capitol Grounds: Princeton Elm Management.

2005 Award Recipient

​Outstanding Partnership Award:
City of Hutchinson Forestry & Planning and Zoning Departments
Topsoil Plan Turns to Trees
For pursuing a solution to improving the topsoil in the yards of new developments.

Outstanding Media Award:
Gregg Hove,
City of Eagan Forestry Website
For a website we can all utilize and take example from.

Stewardship Award:
Three Women of New Ulm Community Forestry
Dr. Ann Vogel, Penny Purtzer, Dianne Rodenberg
For spearheading the forum on Community Forestry in New Ulm to bring awareness to forestry issues in their town - leading to the formation of a tree board.

Stewardship Award:
Mark Schnobrich
For being the consummate community forestry manager, a tireless ambassador for trees.

Outstanding Volunteer Project Award:
Plymouth Avenue Green Team
Legacy Village Green Team
For an exemplary effort to improve the green infrastructure of Plymouth Avenue Neighborhoods through assessment, planning, organizing and planting.

Outstanding Volunteer of the Year Award:
Greg Krogstad
For engaging in various activities in service to improve Minnesota Urban and Community Forestry through unpaid community service.

Innovation Award:
Forestry Vision Team
Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board
For creating the Forestry Vision Team to increase and improve the level of communication among field personnel, supervisors and management.

Outstanding Media Award for and Arbor Day Celebration:
"The Price is Right" - Arbor Day 2005
C.E.L. Public Relations, Inc and Ken Holman, Mn DNR, Division of Forestry. 
For creating a newsworthy Arbor Day celebration tied to the timely release of a new study highlighting the monetary value of trees.

2003 Award Recipients

Outstanding Volunteer Project
Diamond Path Elementary School for
“Planting for the Future”
Mosaic Youth Group, for Transplanting
Lilacs along Lilac Way
Fern Hill Neighborhood Association, for
Park spruce up, including buckthorn control
 
Outstanding Volunteer of the Year
Paula Denman
Bryn Mawr Neighborhood Association
 
Outstanding Youth Project
Biology Students of North High School, for
Hwy 36 Corridor Planting and Maintenance
Pa Cha Yang, for Buckthorn Research
 
Outstanding Partnership
MNDOT & Friends of Wood Lake, for
Children's Forest
City of Proctor and MNDOT
Midtown Community Works Partnership
 
Outstanding Arbor Day
MPRB, Tree Trust, Folwell & Riverside
Parks,
Pioneer and Soldiers Memorial Cemetery
 
Community Forestry Maintenance
City of St. Paul, Capital City Lights
City of Fergus Falls
 
Distinguished Service Award
Mike Zins
Glen Shirley
 
Media Award
Arbor Month Partnership, Minnesota Arbor
Day Coverage
Great River Energy and Minnesota Power,
for Revision of Right Tree Handbook
 
 
Innovation
Great River Greening
Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board,
Forestry Preservation Officer position
MPRB and Tree Trust, Video Production
For New Boulevard Tree Neighbors

2004 Award Recipients

​Distinguished Service Award:  
​Janet Larson
for Significantly contributing to urban and community forestry through seemingly tireless hours spreading stewardship far and wide.

Outstanding Arbor Day Celebration Award:
Festival of Trees 
Steve Sylvester, S&S Tree; Dave Sundmark, City of Saint Paul
for organizing the Festival of Trees, a community celebration which best commemorates and furthers the Arbor Day ideal

Outstanding Community Forestry Maintenance Award:
City of Crystal,
Edgewood Gardens tree preservation
for preserving trees during the Edgewood Gardens redevelopment project, through planning, arboricultural practices and a cooperative spirit between City departments and contractors.

Stewardship Award:
Michael Max, EnvironMentor Services 
Todd Carroll, Mn/DOT, Landscape Partnership Program Coordinator
for allowing or development and launching of 
MN/DOT's comprehensive new Plant Selector website.

Outstanding Volunteer Project Award:
City of Saint Louis Park, 2004 Arbor Day Partnership
for reforesting the Southwest Regional trail and Midtown Greenway with hundreds of volunteers planting over one hundred trees in 
Saint Louis Park.

Outstanding Volunteer of the Year Award:
Tim Wallace
for many volunteer hours and vigilance ensuring the success of MN/DOT partnership and city plantings in the Wayzata area.

Innovation Award:
Jay Maier and Sharon Tuntland, Citizen Forester Program
for creating and initiating the Rochester Citizen Forester program that is a blueprint for other communities that wish to maximize their community forestry funds and resources.

Outstanding Partnership Award:
The Rotary International, Area 8, District 5950 and 
City of Buffalo Minnesota
Buffalo Lake, Minnesota "Trees After the Tornado" Project
for initiating, planning, fundraising, expert seeking, and organizing a replanting project in tornado torn Buffalo Lake.

2002 Award Recipients

​Glen R Shirley
Distinguished Service Award
For:  His Dedication to the People and Trees of Minnesota through his service to MNSTAC

Will Hawkinson
Outstanding Youth Project 
For:  Reforesting Highway 55 in Plymouth
 
The Fern Hill Neighborhood Association
Outstanding Volunteer Project Award
For:  Their Invaluable Contribution to the St. Louis Park Arbor Day in Fern Hill Park
 
Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board
Outstanding Arbor Day
For:  "Reconnecting Our River Roots" at North  Mississippi Regional Park
 
Mosaic Youth Group
Outstanding Volunteer Project Award
For:  Excellent Volunteerism on the Hwy 100 Lilac Moving Project in Crystal
 
City of Proctor and MN/DOT District 1
Outstanding Partnership Project Award
For:  Their Highway 2 Planting in Downtown Proctor

Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board
Innovation Award
For:  Creating the Position of Forestry Preservation Coordinator
 
Mike Haugen
Stewardship Award
For:  Saving Trees from the Ground up at the Twin Cities University of Minnesota Facilities
 
City of St. Paul, Forestry
Outstanding Community Forestry Maintenance Award
For:  Capital City Lights
 
City of Ramsey Environmental Expo and Tree Sales
Award of Special Merit 
For:  Innovation in Building Environmental Awareness and Community