Outstanding Leadership

Special recognition was given to Lynn Jungwirth, Executive Director of the Watershed Research and Training Center, who received the Rural Voices for Conservation Coalition Lifetime Achievement Award.  Lynn was also presented with a framed article from American Forest's Earth Keeper magazine and a bound book of reflections from colleagues and friends.

Three RVCC Participants were presented with RVCC Leadership Awards to recognize their leadership, service, and commitment to finding solutions to the ecological and economic challenges facing the rural West:

• Carol Daly, Executive Director of the Flathead Economic Policy Center in Columbia Falls, Montana
• Ron Saranich, Regional Biomass Coordinator, USDA Forest Service, Region 6
  
• Joyce Dearstyne, Executive Director of Framing Our Community in Elk City, Idaho

Compelling Networking Poster Session Displays

Over 100 people attended the first annual Networking Poster Session to share, learn, and increase their knowledge about the projects and efforts that RVCC participants are working on.  Three awards were given to the most outstanding displays of the night:

• Best Overall: Cassandra Moseley, Max Nielsen-Pincus, and Emily Jane Davis of the Ecosystem Workforce Program created a display, the contents of which are encapsulated in their briefing paper, Local Benefit in the West from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act.
• Most Informative: Cassandra Moseley, Max Nielsen-Pincus, and Emily Jane Davis, Ecosystem Workforce Program
  
• Most Creative: Whitney Kimball Coe, National Rural Assembly developed a display featuring interesting information about the National Rural Assembly, compelling photographs and a slideshow.