During the OWAA Honorary Awards program held closing night of OWAA’s annual conference, this year in Salt Lake City, Utah, several conference attendees received OWAA’s highest honors. 2011 honorary award recipients include Rich Patterson, Ham Brown Award; Paul Hansen, Jade of Chiefs Award; Ron Schara, Excellence in Craft Award; Andrea Rhoades, Jackie Pfeiffer Memorial Award; and Matt Miller, Outstanding Board Member Award. Honorary award recipients are chosen annually, typically recognized at OWAA’s annual conference.
2011 J. Hammond Brown Memorial Award
The J. Hammond Brown Memorial Award was initiated in 1966 as OWAA’s most prestigious recognition of a member “for devoted past service to the organization over a period of continuous years.” Ham Brown awardees are granted life membership. Past recipients constitute the selection committee. Before the final selection, the selection committee consults both the Awards Committee chair and the immediate past president.
Rich Patterson, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the 2011 J. Hammond Brown Memorial Award. The award is OWAA’s most prestigious recognition of a member “for devoted past service to the organization over a period of continuous years.” Director of the Indian Creek Nature Center, Patterson served as OWAA president in 2007-08 and is a Life Member; he joined the organization in 1983.
2011 Jade of Chiefs Award
The Jade of Chiefs Award was established in 1958 as OWAA’s top conservation award. Though only OWAA members are eligible, the award is presented not by OWAA but by members of the current Circle of Chiefs. Before making a final selection, the selection committee consults with both the Awards Committee chair and the immediate past president. Tenure and position in or service to OWAA are not criteria for this award. The Jade of Chiefs Award represents an affirmation of OWAA adherence to and support of the principles of conservation. In 1963, the Circle of Chiefs was designated OWAA’s Conservation Council. As such, it is OWAA’s conservation policy spokesman. The award originally consisted of sterling silver cuff links set with New Zealand jade. A pewter belt buckle inlaid with jade or a jade pendant and a plaque are presently awarded.
Paul Hansen of Jackson, Wyo., a freelance consultant on conservation, natural resources and outdoor recreation, received OWAA’s top conservation award, the 2011 Jade of Chiefs Award. Award recipients exemplify OWAA’s adherence to and support of the principles of conservation. An active member of OWAA since 1982, Hansen served as the executive director of the Izaak Walton League for 12 years, plus an additional 11 years as director of the League’s Midwest Office in Minneapolis. Hansen has worked with organizations such as the Jackson Hole Alliance; served as director of The Nature Conservancy’s Greater Yellowstone program; chaired the “Green Group,” the leadership forum of the CEOs of the major national environmental groups; and was a founding member of the American Wildlife Conservation Partners, a similar forum of hunting conservation leaders.
2011 Excellence in Craft Award
The Excellence in Craft Award was initiated in 1971 to honor an OWAA member “for outstanding effort in upholding the OWAA Creed and continued excellence in craft.” Recipients are selected by past Excellence in Craft Award recipients. Before making a final selection, the selection committee consults with both the Awards Committee chair and the immediate past president.
Ron Schara, of Minneapolis, Minn., received OWAA’s 2011 Excellence in Craft Award. The award honors an OWAA member “for outstanding effort in upholding the OWAA Creed and continued excellence in craft.” An OWAA member since 1967, Schara is a television host and producer of several national and regional TV series and regional radio programs. He is a writer and television personality who’s been sharing outdoor stories with readers and viewers for four decades. Schara is founder/executive producer of Ron Schara Productions, a full-service video production company with six Emmy Awards. His programs have aired on a variety of networks, including NBC, History Channel, ESPN2, Outdoor Channel, Versus, and many other local broadcast markets.
2011 Jackie Pfeiffer Memorial Award
The Jackie Pfeiffer Memorial Award honors the special qualities Jackie brought to OWAA and into the personal lives of members. It encourages everyone to exhibit these qualities in their lives. Recipients exemplify Jackie’s genuine warmth and radiance, goodwill, helpfulness, generosity and kindness to others, especially at conference. OWAA members and spouses are eligible. The selection committee consists of past recipients and Boyd Pfeiffer. Before making a final selection, the selection committee consults with both the Awards Committee chair and the immediate past president.
Andrea Rhoades is the 2011 recipient of the Jackie Pfeiffer Memorial Award. The wife of former OWAA Executive Director, Kevin Rhoades, Andrea is a frequent attendee of the association’s annual conferences, and a past coordinator of the Excellence in Craft Contests. Rhoades also assisted at OWAA headquarters over the years. The Jackie Pfeiffer Memorial Award originated in 1998, and recipients exhibit the qualities of the award’s namesake in exemplifying warmth and radiance, goodwill, helpfulness, generosity and kindness to others. “She also has the rare quality of grace,” said Joan Turner, the 2010 recipient, when presenting Rhoades with this year’s award. Rhoades resides in Missoula, Mont. with her husband, two sons and loyal dog, Kona.
2011 Outstanding Board Member Award
Mike Cramford, during his term on the board of directors, felt that outstanding board members should be recognized in a special way. In 1974 and 1975, he presented four board members with jade bolo ties as a memento of service to OWAA. The board continued the bolo tradition until 1985. Now, a plaque is presented. Fellow board members select recipients.
Matt Miller of Boise, Idaho, received the 2011 Outstanding Board Member Award. A member since 2002, Miller has worked as director of communications for The Nature Conservancy in Idaho for the past nine years. He has served on OWAA’s Board of Directors since 2009, and contributed to the OWAA Strategic Planning and Membership Criteria Review Committees during the past year. His articles and essays have appeared in such publications as Living Bird, Sports Afield, Bugle, Mule Deer, Grist and many others. He has traveled around the world in search of wildlife and stories.
