Victor Willis ("VW") Flickinger (1905-1983) received the Pugsley Silver Medal in 1951. He entered Iowa State University to study mechanical engineering, but after one year switched majors to landscape architecture. He received his BS degree in that field in 1930. Immediately after graduation he worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad, then as landscape architect for commercial firm and finally he was appointed city forester at Mason City, Iowa, where he worked under the city engineer. In 1933 he was hired by the NPS to assist with the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) program as a landscape foreman in charge of design, layout and construction of various state parks in Northwest Iowa.
In 1939, he was appointed chief, Division of Lands and Waters, for the Iowa State Conservation Commission with responsibility for the state's parks, forests, waters and historical sites. He served in this position for 10 years. His tenure was temporarily interrupted while serving for three years as a captain of coast artillery in World War II. In 1940, he obtained approval to establsih a park naturalist program. In 1949, Flickinger moved east to become the first Chief of the Division of Parks within the newly created Ohio Department of Natural Resources. In 1964, Flickinger returned to the NPS as a park planner in the Washington office and later in the regional office in Richmond, Virginia. His task was to provide states with technical assistance in formulating comprehensive plans for the park development. He retired from the NPS in 1972. He was also the first president of the Midwest State Park Association.