Conservation district presents awards
Bradley and Shirley Eisiminger of Woodside Farm received the 2015 Special Recognition Award for Agricultural Excellence. Pictured, from left, are Bradley Eisiminger, who is also conservation district board chairman, and Jim Cowell, district secretary.
Pine Belt Energy Services LLC was named the Outstanding Conservation Contractor of the Year. Pictured are company owner Allen Entrekin, right, and district treasurer Thomas Headlee.
Harold and Gay Thistle received the 2015 Special Recognition Award for Forestry.
Gilmore Township was named the inaugural Dirt, Gravel and Low Volume Road Program Municipality of the Year. They are, from left, are district treasurer Thomas Headlee, township Supervisor Chuck Wise and district secretary Jim Cowell.
Four Conservation District board and staff members received service awards. Pictured, from left, are environmental resource specialist Lindsay Kozlowski; fiscal officer Rebecca Salosky; board director emeritus J. Robert Rice; district chairman Bradley Eisiminger and district manager Lisa Snider.
Kevin Willis of Carmichaels Area High School, left, was presented with a special certificate for having received honorable mention for the Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators. Rodney Parson, a junior at West Greene High School and current FFA chapter president, center, received the 2015 Conservation Speaking Award. They are pictured with district chairman Bradley Eisiminger.
The Greene County Conservation District honored 10 individuals, a contractor and a municipality during its annual awards ceremony Dec. 15 at Thistlethwaite Vineyards in Jefferson.
Each year, the district honors those who have shown an outstanding commitment to soil and water conservation in the county.
Honorees include Bradley and Shirley Eisiminger of Woodside Farm, recipients of the 2015 Special Recognition Award for Agricultural Excellence; Gay and Harold Thistle, recipients of the 2015 Special Recognition Award for Forestry; Pine Belt Energy Services LLC, Outstanding Conservation Contractor of the Year; Gilmore Township, the inaugural Dirt, Gravel and Low Volume Road Program Municipality of the Year; and Rodney Parson, recipient of the 2015 Conservation Speaking Award.
The conservation district also honored Kevin Willis, a teacher and Envirothon team coach for Carmichaels Area High School, who this year received honorable mention for the Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators.
Four conservation district board and staff members also received special service awards.
The Eisimingers were recognized for their many years of agricultural and conservation efforts that led to them recently being named the 2015 North American International Livestock Exposition Shorthorn Show honorees.
The couple were honored Nov. 16 in Louisville, Ky., during the Jack C. Ragsdale National Shorthorn Show, the largest all-breed, purebred livestock event in the world.
The Eisimingers were recognized for their outstanding contributions to the livestock industry, longtime involvement with the American Shorthorn Association and devotion to building the Shorthorn breed.
Woodside Farm, near Kirby, has one of the oldest Shorthorn herds in the country. Bradley Eisiminger is the fifth generation in his family to show Shorthorns, and he and his wife work on the family farm, which was recognized in 1985 as a Century Family Farm. Since 1871, cattle have been raised on the land, and the Shorthorn cattle they breed now have pedigrees dating back to post-Civil War times.
Each fall, the Eisimingers organize the Keystone Autumn Classic, the longest-running Shorthorn sale in the country, at Woodside Farm. The couple works closely with the conservation district to implement best management practices beneficial in both herd management and soil and water conservation.
The Thistles were recognized for their forest conservation efforts that have gained them the honor of being named Pennsylvania’s Tree Farmer of the Year for 2015. The Thistles previously received the conservation district’s Forester of the Year award in 2011.
In June 1999, the couple purchased 98.2 acres, including about 30 wooded acres originally of a typical Appalachian oak-hickory type. The Thistles have worked with state and federal programs to plant more than 3,400 seedlings and nurture them into thriving trees. Varieties planted include black walnut, white ash, northern red oak, sugar maple, chestnut, white spruce and butternut.
The Thistles are the founding members of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Woodland Owners organization, which formed in 2000, and have hosted educational tours and courses and training sessions on their property.
Pine Belt Energy Services, the 2015 Outstanding Conservation Contractor, was recognized for its protection of the environment and the county’s natural resources from erosion and sedimentation.
The company also was noted for its willingness to work with landowners and its respect for the land. Pine Belt provides support to the oil and gas industry and has worked closely with Momentum Oil & Gas to repair and maintain slides that resulted from the installation of gas pipeline in the county.
Owner Allen Entrekin accepted the award on behalf of the company, which is based in Mississippi, but has a satellite office in Fairview, W.Va.
For the first time, the conservation district chose to recognize a municipality that has participated in the Dirt, Gravel and Low Volume Road Program.
This program was developed to enhance municipal roads with environmentally sensitive maintenance practices as developed by the Center for Dirt and Gravel Roads. The Dirt, Gravel and Low Volume Road Program Municipality of the Year Award was presented to Gilmore Township.
Gilmore Township was recognized for outstanding accomplishments in the establishment of environmentally sensitive maintenance practices that protect water quality within the municipality. Since 2013, the township has completed 10 projects and has plans for additional future projects. The township has worked diligently to complete these projects in a timely manner and has worked closely with the district to improve its road system.
Rodney Parson, a junior at West Greene High School and current Future Farmers of America chapter president, was recognized for his outstanding speaking skills and for winning the 2015 Greene County FFA speaking competition with his speech, “EPA’s Waters of United States Rule and its Effects.”
Parson placed first at the county speaking contest and continued through the local and regional competitions. He became one of 12 students in the state to represent his FFA chapter, school and county at the State FFA Conservation Speaking Contest this past summer at the Pennsylvania FFA State Convention. He placed second overall. Parson is the son of Tim and Tina Parson of Graysville.
This year, the district also honored Kevin Willis of the Carmichaels Area School District.
Willis made the list of honorable mentions for the Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators and received a special certificate. Willis was nominated for his leadership, guidance and accomplishments in engaging and expanding his students’ knowledge.
Finally, four service awards were given to current conservation district board and staff members.
J. Robert Rice, board director emeritus, was recognized for 50 years of service to the board.
Rebecca Salosky, district fiscal officer, received recognition for her 35 years of committed service.
District Manager Lisa Snider was recognized for 15 years of service. Snider began her career at the district as the watershed specialist and has been the manager of the office since 2010.
Lindsay Kozlowski, environmental resource specialist, was recognized for five years of service.
The district also recognized and thanked the following for their contributions during the past year:
Alpha Natural Resources for its contribution to the Envirothon scholarship; Community Foundation of Greene County for funding to assist with the Envirothon; the winning Envirothon team members from Carmichaels Area High School; and all cooperating agencies and the county for continuing support.