Pugsley Medal Recipients

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The Honorable Cornelius Amory Pugsley Medals are the most prestigious awards that recognize outstanding contributions to the promotion and development of public parks and conservation in the United States.

 



2022
William Mitchell, Executive Director, Department of Parks and Recreation, Pennsylvania

2021
Arnold Randall, General Superintendent, Forest Preserves District of Cook County
Elizabeth Kessler, Executive Director, McHenry County Conservation District
John J. Reynolds, Director, West Region, National Park Service (Retired)

2020
Daniel L. Dustin, PhD, Utah

2019
Dr. Phillip Rea, Professor Emeritus, Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management at North Carolina State University
Renée E. Bahl, Associate Vice Chancellor, University of California, Santa Barbara
Richard J. Dolesh, Vice President of Strategic Initiatives, National Recreation and Park Association

2018
Mr. William “Bill” Scalzo, Director, Maricopa County Parks & Recreation Department, Arizona
Robert Emmett Doyle, General Manager, East Bay Regional Park District, California

2017
Anita Gorman, Park & Recreation Advocate, Kansas City, Missouri
Lewis Ledford, Director; Executive Director, North Carolina State Parks; National Assoc. of State Parks Directors
Peter Sortino , Park Advocate, Member, Board of Directors and Executive , Forest Park Forever, St. Louis, Missouri

2016
John Sutter, Board Member, East Bay Regional Park District, California
Richard L. Ash, Jr., Director, St. Charles Park District, Missouri

2015
John C. Potts , Superintendent of Parks and Planning, Peoria Park District, and Executive Director, Champaign County Forest Preserve District, Illinois
Lamar Alexander, Govonor, State of Tennessee, Tennessee
Mary Kathleen “Kathy” Perales, Research Biologist, Engineer Research and Development Center, US Army Corps of Engineers, Mississippi

2014
Eric W. O’Brien
James A. Peterson, Professor, Indiana University, Indiana
Katie Porter, Park Advocate & Chair; Vice Chair; Chair, Morris County Park Commission; Governor's Council on New Jersey Outdoors; NRPA Board of Directors

2013
Barry Tindall, Director Public Policy , NRPA, Virginia
Beverly D. (Brandes) Chrisman, Park Advocate, Chair; President, Irmo Chapin Recreation Commission; NRPA, South Carolina
John H. Davis, Executive Director, CPRA, Virginia

2012
Joe Crookham, Park Advocate, President; Board of Directors; Member, Mahaska County Recreation Foundation; National Park Foundation; Little League Baseball Foundation, Iowa
Pete Dangermond, Director; President, California State Parks; Save-the-Redwoods League, California
Roger K. Brown, Director; First Director, Greensboro Park & Rec, NC; North Clackamas Parks & Rec Dist., OR

2011
Dr. Roderick Frazier Nash, Professor, Historian, Author, University of California Santa Barbara, CA
James Reed Ellis, Park Advocate, First Citizen Award; recipient, National Jefferson Award, Seattle-King County, WA
John J. Nau III, Park Advocate; Chair, Advisory Council; Chair, Historic Preservation & Preserve America Initiative; Civil War Trust, TX

2010
Charles E. Hartsoe, Professor Emeritus, Virginia Commonwealth University, author, advocate
Harry (Hal) G. Haskell, Jr, Former Member of Congress, NRPA Life Trustee
Martin J. Rosen, Founding Member, former Chairman & President, The Trust for Public Land

2009
Anne M. Burke, Justice, Illinois Supreme Court
Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Executive Vice President, Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation
George L. Bristol, President, Texas Coalition for Conservation
Huey Johnson, President, Resource Renewal Institute

2008
Elizabeth (Liz) Cushman Titus Putnam, Founding President, Student Conservation Association, NH
Henry L. Diamond, Environmental Lawyer, Washington, DC
Vern J. Hartenburg, Executive Director, Cleveland Metroparks, OH

2007
Elizabeth (Betsy) Barlow Rogers , President, Central Park Conservancy, New York City
Fran P. Mainella, Director, National Park Service, Washington, DC
Stuart L. Udall, Secretary of Interior, Washington, DC

2006
L.W. "Bill" Lane, Jr., Retired Publisher, Sunset, Menlo Park, CA
Tony A. Mobley, Dean Emeritus, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN

2005
Clifton E. French, Superintendent, Hennepin County Park Preserve District
Lady Bird Johnson, Conservationist, Austin, TX
Patrick F. Noonan, Chair, Conservation Fund, Washington, DC

2004
Brian O'Neill, Superintendent, Golden Gate National Recreation Area
Laurance S. Rockefeller, Conservationist and Philanthropist, Pocantico, NY
Victor Ashe, Mayor , Knoxville, TN

2003
Pat O'Brien, General Manager, East Bay Regional Park District, CA
Robert "Bob" G. Stanton, Director, National Park Service, Washington, DC
Terese "Terry" Tarlton Hershey, Conservationist, Houston, TX

2002
Bernadette Castro, Commissioner, NY State Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation
Eugene Young, Superintendent, Recreation & Park Commission for East Baton Rouge Parish, LA
R. Dean Tice, Executive Director, National Recreation & Park Association, Ashburn, VA

2001
Andrea Moore, State Representative, Illinois
Anne Springs Close, Fort Mill, SC
Dr. Joe Bannon, Professor Emeritus, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

2000
Bruce Babbitt, Secretary, Department of Interior, Washington, DC
Carol M. Severin, Chair, East Bay Regional Park District, CA
Chris Jarvi, Director, City of Anaheim, CA

1999
John L. Crompton, Distinguished Professor, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
Joseph Caverly, Director, Westchester County Parks Commission, NY

1998
Fran P. Mainella, Director, National Park Service, Washington, DC
Ken Winslade , Director, Department of Parks & Recreation, New Westminster, BC, Canada

1997
Ernest William Nance, Director, Oaklawn Park District, IL
Ira J. Hutchison, Assistant Director, National Park Service, Washington, DC

1995
Charles R. Jordan, Director, Portland, OR
Edward J. Koenemann, Director, Vermont State Parks

1994
Cordie O. Hudkins, Jr., Director, West Virginia State Parks
James J. Truncer, Director, Monmouth County Park System, NJ
John E. Cook, Regional Director, National Park Service, Santa Fe, NM

1993
Andrew Sansom, Director, Texas Parks & Wildlife Department
James "Jim" Andrew Colley, Director, Phoenix Parks, Recreation & Library Department, AZ
James M. Ridenour, Director, National Park Service, Washington, DC
William "Bill" J. Briggle, Superintendent, Mt. Ranier National Park

1992
Boyd Evison, Regional Director, National Park Service
Ralph S. Cryder, Director, Los Angeles County Parks, CA
Ray H. Murray, National Park Service, Sacramento, CA

1991
Denis P. Galvin, Deputy Director, National Park Service, Washington, DC
Ford W. Hughes, Director, St. James Foundation
Ronald H. Dodd, Director, Chicago Park District, IL

1990
David Talbot, Director, Oregon State Parks
Gary Everhardt , Director, National Park Service, Washington, DC
Richard "Dick" Trudeau, Director, East Bay Regional Park District, CA
William J. Hopkins, Director, Delaware State Parks

1989
H.C. "Chuck" Johnson, Director, DuPage County Forest Preserve, IL
Orin Lehman, Commissioner, NY State Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation
Philip O. Stewart, Assistant Director, Land Acquisition, National Park Service
Willis "Will" P. Kriz, National Park Service

1988
William C. "Bill" Walters , Director, Indiana State Parks
William Penn Mott, Jr., Director, National Park Service
William R. "Bill" Bird, Director, Metropolitan Dade County Parks & Recreation Department, FL

1987
Marc Sagan, Chief, Harpers Ferry Center, National Park Service
Robert F. Toalson, Director, Champaign (IL) Park District
William C. “Bill” Forrey, Director, Pennsylvania State Parks

1983
Charles H. Odegaard , Director, Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission
David 0. Laidlaw, Director, Huron-Clinton Metroparks, OH
Manus “Jack” Fish, Jr., Director, National Capital Region, National Park Service

1982
Graham A. Skea, Director, Parks, Recreation & Conservation, Orange County, NY
John A. Townsley, Superintendent, Yellowstone National Park, WY
William Penn Mott, Jr., Director, National Park Service

1981
Frank C. Vaydik, Director, Kansas City (MO) Parks, Recreation and Conservation

1979
Daniel ]ames "Jim" Tobin, Jr. , Deputy Director, National Park Service
Maxwell D. Ramsey, Director, Cultural Resources & Recreation, Tennessee Valley Authority
Nash Castro, Executive Director, Palisades Interstate Park Commisiion, New York, New York

1974
Lawrence Stuart, Director, Maine State Parks, Maine
Rhodell E. Owens, Director, Peoria (IL) Park District
Russell E. Dickenson, Director, National Park Service

1973
Elbert Cox, Regional Director, National Park Service, Richmond, Virgina
Horace G. Caldwell, Executive Director, Jekyll Island Authority, GA
William A. "Bill" Parr, Superintendent, Maryland State Parks

1972
Howard Gregg, General Manager, Milwaukee County (WI) Parks & Recreation Department
Nathaniel P. "Nate" Reed, Assistant Secretary, Department of the Interior
William Penn Mott, Jr., Director, National Park Service

1971
Earl Edison Gaylor, General Manager, Oglebay Park, Wheeling, WV
Joseph W. Souza, Jr., Director, Hawaii State Parks
Melvin M. Payne, Chair, National Geographic Society

1970
Ben H. Bolen, Commissioner, Virginia Division of Parks
Harthon "Spud" L. Bill, Deputy Directo, National Park Service
Robert W. Ruhe, Superintenden, Board of Park Commission, Minneapolis, MN

1969
Ignatius "Nash" Castro, Regional Director, National Capital Parks, Washington, DC
Joseph J Truncer, Director, Department of Conservation and Economics, Division of Parks, Trenton, New Jersey
Lawrence "Larry" N. Stevens, Associate Director, Bureau of Outdoor Recreation, Washington, DC

1968
Lemuel “Lon” A. Garrison, Director, Region V, National Park Service, Philadelphia, PA
Theodore Kazimiroff, Historian, Bronx Borough, Bronx, New York
William M. "Mark" Gosdin, Director, Department of Park Services, TX Parks & Wildlife Dept

1967
Earl Philip Hanson, Chief, California Division of Beaches & Parks
George B. Hartzog Jr., Director, National Park Service
John "Jack" P. Hewitt, Director, Maryland-National Capital Park & Planning Commission

1966
James H. Evans, Chair, National Park & Recreation Association
Kermit "Mac" McKeever, Chief, Division of Parks and Recreation, Charleston, WV
Norman S Johnson, Superintendent, Parks, Los Angeles, California

1965
Elbert Cox, Regional Director, National Park Service
Frank C Vaydik, Superintendent, Board of Park Commissioners, Kansas City, Missouri
Russell B. Tobey, Director, Division of Parks, Concord, NH

1964
Daniel L Flaherty, General Superintendent, Chicago Park District, Chicago, Illinois
Harold P Fabian, Attorney, Jackson Hole Preserve, Salt LAke City, Utah
U.W. Hella, Director, Division of State Parks, Department of Conservation, St. PAul, Minnesota

1963
Conrad L. Wirth, Director, Division of State Park Service, Washington DC
Edward J Meeram, Conservation Editor, Scripps-Howard Newspapers
Thomas S. Jett, Regional Director, National Capital Parks, Wahington DC

1962
Ejo J. Urbanovsky, Texas Technological College, Department of Park Management, Lubbock, Texas
Freeman Tilden, Author, Warner, New Hampshire
Sidney S. Kennedy, Division Cooperative Services, Bureau of Outdoor Recreation, NPS, Washington DC

1961
Allen T Edmunds, Regional Chief, Recreation Resource Planning, National Park Service, Philadelphia, Pennysylvania
Charles A De Turk, Director, Department of Parks and Recreation, Sacramento, California
Frank G McInnis, Director, Detroit Zoological Park, Royal Oak, Michigan

1960
Edmund B. Rogers, Superintendent, Rocky Mountain National Park and Yellowstone National Park, Denver, Colorado
Harold W. Lathrop, Director , Colorado State Parks and Recreation, Denver, Colorado
Louis B. Houston, Director, Dallas Parks and Recreation Department, Texas

1959
Alfred A. Knopf, Publisher, Federal Advisory Board on National Parks, Historic Sites, Buildings and Monuments,, New York, New York
Geroge L Collins, Regional Chief, Recreation Resource Planning, National Park Service, San Anselmo, California
Homer W. Fish, Superintendent, Parks, Wheeling, West Virginia

1958
Eivind T. Scoyen, Associate Director, NPS, Washington DC
Thomas W. Morse, Superintendent, State Parks, Raleigh, North Carolina
Walter W. Wirth, Salem Parks and Recreation Department., Oregon

1957
Ben H. Thompson, Division of Recreation Resource Planning, NPS, Glen Echo, Maryland
Charles E. Doell, Superintendent, Board of Park Commissioners, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Kenneth R. Cougill, Division of State Parks, Anderson, Indiana

1956
Bronze Medal- Gilbert H. Grosvenor, Chairman, National Geographic Society, Washington DC
Gold Medal- Harold S. Wagner, Metropolitan Park System, Akron, Ohio
Silver Medal- James F. Evans, Director, New York State Park System, Albany, New York

1955
Bronze Medal- Thomas C.Vint, Chief Design and Construction, National Park Service, Washington DC
Gold Medal- Loring McMellan, Vice-President, Statten Island Hisotrical Society, New York
Silver Medal- Ruth E. Peeler, Vice Chair, State Parks and Research Commission, Des Moines, Washington DC

1954
Bronze Medal- Harold C Bryant, Assistant Director, National Park Service, Ovinda, California
Gold Medal- Adrian D. Barnes, Dade County Park Department, Miami, Florida
Silver Medal- Russel Reid, Superintendent, State Historical Society of North Dakota, Bismark, North Dakota

1953
Bronze Medal- Olaus J Murie, President, Wilderness Society, Moose, Wyoming
Fredrick L. Olmsted Jr., Palo Alto, California
Silver Medal- Edward J Burns, Washington DC

1952
Bronze Medal- Jerome C Dretzka, Milwaukee County Commission, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Harlean James, Executive Secretary, American Planning and Civic Association and the National Conference On State Parks, Washington, D.C.
Silver Medal- Ronald F. Lee, Assistant Director, Secretary, National Park Service, National Trust for Historic Preservation, Washington DC

1951
Aurthur E. Demaray, Director, National Park Service
Bronze Medal- Frank D. Quinn, Chairman, Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, Austin, Texas
Silver Medal- Victor W. Flickinger, Chief, Division of Parks, Department of Natural Resources, Columbus, Ohio

1950
Bronze Medal- William N G Haynes, Stonington, Connecticut
Newton B. Drury, Director, National Park Service
Silver Medal- Frank A. Kittredge, Chief Engineer, National Park Service, Washington DC

1949
Bronze Medal- Jay Downer, Chief Engineer, Westchester County, New York, New York
Silver Medal-Hillory A Tolson, Assistant Director, National Park Service
Waldo G. Leland, National Park Service Advisory Board

1948
Bronze Medal- Ellwood B. Chapman, President, Pennsylvania Parks Assn., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Percival P. Baxter, Portland, Maine
Silver Medal- Minor R. Tillotson, Regional Director , National Park Service, Santa Fe, New Mexico

1947
Bronze Medal- Samuel H. Boardman, Oregon State Highway Commission, Salem, Oregon
Conrad L. Wirth, National Parks Service
Silver Medal- Thomas J.Allen, Regional Director, National Park Service, Richmond, Virginia

1946
Medal awards discontinued during World War II

1945
Medal awards discontinued during World War II

1944
Medal awards discontinued during World War II

1943
Medal awards discontinued during World War II

1942
Bronze Medal- Harlean James, Executive Secretary, American Planning and Civic Association
Harold L. Ickes, Secretary of the Interior
Silver Medal- Arthur E. Demaray, Assistant Director, National Park Service

1941
No medals were awarded

1940
Bronze Medal- William A. Stinchcomb, Director, Cleveland Metropolitan Park District
Hermon C. Bumpus, President, Tufts University; Chair, NPS Advisory Board
Silver Medal- Newton B. Drury, Secretary, Save the Redwoods, League of California, California

1939
Bronze Medal- William P. Alexander, Buffalo, New York
Robert Fechner, Director, Civilian Conservation Corps
Silver Medal- Charles C. Deam, Indiana State Parks

1938
Arno B. Cammerer, Director, National Park Service
Bronze Medal- Alvin E Reeves, Director, Division of Parks, Oklahama, Oklahama
Silver Medal- Raymond H Torrey, Journalist and Secretary, American Scenic and Historic Preservation

1937
Bronze Medal- William H. Carr, Director, Trailside Museum at Bear Mountain
J. Horace McFarland, President, American Civic Association, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Silver Medal- Charles P. Wilber, State Forester and Director, Department of Conservation and Development, New Jersey

1936
Bronze Medal- George M Wright, Founder and Chief, Wildlife Division of National Park Sevice
Bronze- George M Wright, Founder and Chief, Wildlife Division of the National Park Service
Robert Moses, Commissioner, Parks for the City of New York, New York
Silver Medal- Roger W. Toll, Superintendent of Yellowstone Park

1935
Bronze Medal- Will O Doolittle, Superintendent of Parks, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Howard B. Bloomer, Chair, Michigan Conservation Department, Michigan
Silver Medal- John McLAren, Park Superintendent, San Fransisco, California

1934
Bronze Medal- Philip W Ayres, Chief Forester, Society for Protection of New Hampshire Forests, New Hampshire
Silver Medal- William E Carson, Director, Virginia Department of Conservation, Riverside, Virginia
William A. Welch, General Manager and Chief Engineer, Palisades Interstate Park, New York and New Jersey

1933
Bronze Medal- David E Colp, Chair, Texas State Parks Board, Texas
Silver Medal- Tom Wallace, Editor of Louisville Times, Kentucky State Park Commission, Kentucky
William W. Niles, Chair, Taconic State Park Commission, New York

1932
Bronze Medal- Margo K. Frankel, Chair, Iowa Board of Conservation
Chauncey J. Hamlin, President, Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences
Silver Medal- Peter Norbeck, Senator, South Dakota

1931
Bronze Medal- Stella M Leviston, San Fransisco, California
Richard Leiber, Director, Indiana Department of Conservation
Silver Medal- Albert M Turner, Connecticut State Park and Forest Commission

1930
Bronze Medal- Charles G Sauers, General Superindent, Indiana Dept of Conservation, Division of Land and Waters, Cook County Forest Preserve, Illinois
Gold Medal- Horace M. Albright, Director, National Park Service
Silver Medal- Theodore Wirth, General Superindent, Park Commissioners of Minneapolis, Minneapolis, Minnesota

1929
Bronze Medal- Thomas W. Hardison, Morristown , Arkansas
Gold Medal- Mary Averell Harriman, Philanthropist
Silver Medal- Nathaniel Lord Britton, New York Botanical Garden, New York

1928
Bronze Medal- Beatrice Ward Nelson, Secretary, National Conference on State Parks, Charlottesville, Virginia
Gold Medal- Stephen Tyng Mather, Director and Founder, National Park Service
Silver Medal- Duncan McDuffie, Member, California State Parks Commission, San Francisco, California



1975- 1978 No Medals were awarded.
Edward J Meeman, Conservation Editor