WACD presents annual awards
The Wyoming Association of Conservation Districts (WACD) hosted its annual awards luncheon on Nov. 20 during the 80th Annual WACD Convention.
According to WACD, the awards program aims to honor the hard work of districts, partners, cooperators and others who work to make conservation and agriculture in Wyoming successful.
David Tysdal and Andrea Sun-Zink emceed the ceremony, and WACD President Ryan Fieldgrove was present to distribute the awards.
Certification awards
The ceremony began with a recognition of members who attained district employee certifications and water quality training certifications in 2025.
Earning district employee certifications were Cathy Rosenthal, Crystal Kellebrew, Gary Booton, Grant Stumbough, Karla Schwartz, Leonard Pullis, Lisa Ogden, Mary Montieth and Timothy Heward.
Water quality training certification recipients included Olivia Bergeron, Kamryn Kozisek, Amber Robbins, Rodney Carter and Kenny Wolfley.
Additionally, David Lee and Carmen McIntyre were recognized for achieving the recertification and field audit requirements required by WACD every four years in order to maintain certification status.
Tysdal also thanked the many other conservation district employees and U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resource Conservation Service partners who attended various trainings throughout 2025.
Outstanding annual plans and reports
The next awards presented were the Outstanding Annual Reports and Plans.
Weston County Natural Resource District earned the Outstanding Annual Report, while Converse County Conservation District received honorable mention.
Recognition for the Outstanding Annual Plan of Work went to Weston County Natural Resource District Conservation District, and Converse County Conservation District received honorable mention.
Poster and photo contest winners
Five students earned top honors in the WACD State Poster Contest. They received a certificate and a $100 prize, and a chance to compete in the national poster contest.
Elliot Borntrager of Uinta County was the winner of the kindergarten through first grade division, and Roan Langley of Converse County was the winner of the second through third grade division.
Kyler Larson of Uinta County won the fourth through sixth grade division, Sophia Richmond of Uinta County won the seventh through ninth grade division and Abigail Ostrander of Converse County won the 10th through 12th grade division.
Winners of WACD’s Annual Photo Contest were recognized as well.
Photos submitted by Janet Hofmann won the Conservation Practices and Conservation in Action categories, while Lisa Shaw earned top honors in the Close-Up Conservation and Conservation/Ag Across America divisions.
Outstanding individuals
To close out the ceremony, awards were presented across a range of outstanding individual categories.
First, Alex Hargrave was honored as the Outstanding News Reporter of the Year for her contributions to environmental journalism in Wyoming with the Buffalo Bulletin.
Next, Amy Swisher was honored as the 2025 WACD Educator of the Year, and Dru Bower Palmer was recognized with the Outstanding Cooperator Award.
In addition, Cherette Bonomo earned the Outstanding Technician Award, Mary Thoman was honored with the Outstanding Elected Official Award, Todd Caltrider received the Outstanding Conservationist Award and Lisa Ogden earned the Outstanding Employee Award for her work with Natrona County Conservation District.
Finally, Wayne Garman of Crook County Natural Resource District was honored with the 2025 Darrell Walker Outstanding Supervisor Award, and U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-WY) received the distinguished President’s Award for her legislative work advocating for Wyoming’s natural resources.
Grace Skavdahl is the editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.
