Awards & Recognition
The UAA awards those who have made significant contributions to the field of Utility Arboriculture. It’s one small way that the organization can show appreciation to those individuals who have contributed to the advancement of the profession.LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
The Lifetime Achievement Award acknowledges the person who has reached many milestones during his/her career as a Utility Arborist.
2024 Mark Kimbrough
2023 Dan Marsh
2022 Jon Pancoast
2021 Joseph F. Tommasi
2020 Tom Wolf
2019 Jennifer Arkett
2018 Lynn Grayson
2017 Nelsen Money
2016 Ward Peterson
2015 Kevin McLoughlin
2014 Larry Abernathy
2013 Ray Henning
2012 H. Lynn Grayson
2011 Richard Alt
2010 Billy Mills
2009 Howard Bowles
2008 Weston J. Davis
2007 Jeffrey Smith
2006 Kenneth Finch
2005 Jim Barnhart
2004 Kenneth Carvell
2003 John Elsesser
2002 Robert Tate
2001 Mike Watson
2000 Richard Wells
1999 Jim Orr
1998 Dennis Holewinski
1997 Neil Thiessen
1996 Richard Abbott
1995 Ruffin Van Bossuyt
1994 Hyland Johnson
WILL NUTTER SILVER SHIELD AWARD
The Will Nutter Silver Shield Award is given to a person who is on the front line of safety and may have official or unofficial roles within an organization. They influence and promote a safety culture at every turn. In 2016, the UAA Silver Shield was created out of ideas that were brought to the UAA Board by then Safety Committee Chair, Will Nutter. Will stood out as an advocate for safety and was a key player in the development of the UAA Safety Summits that focuses attention on bringing together a group of utility vegetation high performers and developing best practices, educating workers, as well as proactively addressing safety which transcends competitive boundaries. This is the very space in which the Silver Shield was created from. On September 16th, 2021 we lost Will due to injuries he sustained in a motorcycle accident. Though we cannot ever replace Will’s unique or one of a kind nature and personality, we can forever commemorate all he stood for. On September 27th, 2021, the UAA Board of Directors voted unanimously to change the name of this award to the Will Nutter Silver Shield Award.
2024 Isaac Winkelman and Liz Westburg
2023 Adrienne Jones and Jerry Staton
2022 Dwight Carter and Tim Walsh
2021 Dan Mekkes, Bob Urban
2020 Johnny Wilson
2019 Mark Kimbrough and Jim Lowell
2018 Gerry Breton, Tracy Hawks, Paul Hurysz, and Keith Pancake
2017 Richard Zito and Bob Gordon
2016 Kevin Meyer and Will Nutter
PRESIDENT’S AWARD
The President’s Award is given by the outgoing president to recognize individuals they felt assisted them or the industry in extraordinary ways before, during and after their term of office.
2024 Bob Richens
2023 Diona Neeser and Renee Phillips
2022 Jim Neeser
2021 Philip Charlton
2020 Larry Abernathy
2019 Stan Vera Art
2018 Jim Barnhart
2017 Nelsen Money
2016 Rich Hendler
2015 Mike Neil
RISING STAR AWARD
The Rising Star Award is given to individuals who are relatively early in their career yet have shown leadership within the UAA organization and the industry.
2024 Sara Dreiser
2023 Phil Swart
2022 Shawn Huff
2021 Carly Harrower
2020 Maegan Mullinax
2019 Lindsey Boyle
2018 Josh Beaver
2017 Eric Brown
2016 Brandon Hughson
2015 Joel Smith and Sara Sankowich
2014 Tim Lawyer
EDUCATION AWARD
The Education Award recognizes an individual who has added to the knowledge and practices of the Utility Arborist.
2024 Dr. Lawrence Kahn
2023 Dr. Robert Vanderhoof
2022 The UVM Podcast
2021 Michael Thiffault
2020 Steven Kerr
2019 Renee Bissett
2018 Geoff Kempter
2017 Neil Theissen
2016 Robert Young
2015 Dr. Chris Nowak
2014 Nelsen Money
2013 Richard Yarnell
2012 Siegfried Guggenmoos
2011 Randall H. Miller
2010 Randall Swanson
2009 John Goodfellow
2008 Dave Krause
2007 Joseph Lentz
2006 Lynn Grayson
2005 Geoffrey Kempter
2004 Logan Norris
2003 Rick Johnstone
2002 Harvey Holt
2001 Richard Abbott
2000 Kenneth Carvell
1999 Don Ham
1998 Henry Gerhold
1997 Richard Byrnes
1996 William Bramble
1995 Alex Shigo
1994 Keith Jones
UTILITY ARBORIST AWARD
The Utility Arborist Award is presented to an individual who has made a significant contribution to the field of Utility Arboriculture.
2024 Eric Brown
2023 Troy Ross
2022 Randy Miller
2021 Rafael Estevez
2020 Stan Vera Art
2019 Rebecca Spach
2018 Paul Hurysz
2017 Paul Appelt
2016 Geoff Kempter
2015 Brian Skinner
2014 James Barnhart
2013 James S. Downie
2012 Stephen Tankersley
2011 Ward Peterson
2010 Pedro Castro
2009 Jennifer Arkett
2008 Dale Crutchfield
2007 Brian Fisher
2006 Michael Neal
2005 Matt Simons
2004 Tom Sullivan
2003 Steve Cieslewicz
2002 Steve Hallmark
2001 Phil Charlton
2000 Bill Massey
1999 Galen Wright
1998 Kevin Eckert
1997 Ray Henning
1996 John Goodfellow
1995 Eric Ulrich
1994 Mike Watson
PinE AWARD
The Utility Arborist Association is the leading organization for the enhancement of quality utility arboriculture and rights-of-way management. Our success relies on the support we receive from all our members, sponsors, and volunteers. Companies that go above and beyond to support our mission will be recognized annually. UAA membership, sponsorship, advertising, active committee volunteerism, and many other means have been quantified and assigned a value, all adding up to equal your PinE Score. This is reviewed and scored by a committee of industry peers based on all the listed items for the previous fiscal year. The award is formally presented at the Trees & Utilities Conference.
2023
2023 Platinum:
ACRT/ACRT Pacific
The Davey Tree Expert Company/Davey Resource Group
2023 Silver:
Arbor Metrics Solutions
CN Utility Consulting, Inc
Environmental Consultants, Inc
Lewis Tree Service Inc
Corteva Agriscience
2023 Honorable Mention:
(CFVM) California Forestry and Vegetation Management, Inc.
AiDash
Clearion
Duke Energy
Duquesne Light Company
East Central Energy
First Energy
GeoSpatial Innovations, Inc.
2023 Gold:
Asplunduh Tree Expert
2023 Bronze:
Townsend Tree
Wright Tree Service, Inc.
2023 Honorable Mention Cont’d:
Grow with Trees
HUB International
Kendall Vegetation Services
National Grid
Nelson Tree Service
NV5 Geospatial
Penn Line Service, Inc.
San Diego Gas & Electric
Xylem Tree Experts
2022
2022 Platinum:
Pacific Gas & Electric
2022 Silver:
ArborMetrics Solutions
Asplundh Tree Expert Co.
CN Utility Consulting
Corteva Agriscience
Duke Energy
Environmental Consultants, Inc.
HUB International
Townsend
Wright Tree Service, Inc.
2022 Honorable Mention:
AiDash
Penn Line Service, Inc.
Bayer
GeoSpatial Innovations, Inc.
Grow With Trees
2022 Gold:
ACRT & ACRT Pacific
The Davey Tree Expert Company & The Davey Resource Group
2022 Bronze:
Jacobs
Lewis Tree Service, Inc.
Overstory
2022 Honorable Mention Cont’d:
Merjent
Rainbow Treecare Scientific
Terra Spectrum Technologies
Treecare of New York
Xylem Tree Experts
2021
Pacific Gas & Electric
2021 Silver:
AERI
American Forests
CN Utility Consulting, Inc.
Environmental Consultants, Inc.
The Davey Resource Group
2021 Honorable Mention:
Asplundh Tree Expert, LLC.
Clearion Software
Corteva Agriscience
First Energy
Grow with Trees
HUB International
ACRT & ACRT Pacific
2021 Bronze:
ArborMetrics Solutions
Duke Energy
Lewis Tree Service, Inc.
Wright Tree Service, Inc.
2021 Honorable Mention Cont’d:
Nelson Tree
North American Training Solutions
Rainbow Tree Company
San Diego Gas & Electric
Terra Spectrum Technologies
The Townsend Corp
Weed Control, Inc.
Xylem Tree Experts
2020
2020 Platinum:
Pacific Gas & Electric
2020 Silver:
AERI
American Forests
CN Utility Consulting, Inc.
Davey/DRG
Environmental Consultants, Inc.
2020 Honorable Mention:
Asplundh Tree Expert Co.
Clearion Software
Corteva Agriscience
First Energy
Grow with Trees
HUB International
Nelson Tree
2020 Gold:
ACRT & ACRT Pacific
2020 Bronze:
ArborMetrics
Duke Energy
Lewis Tree Service
Wright Tree Service
2020 Honorable Mention Cont’d:
North American Training Solutions
Rainbow Tree Company
San Diego Gas & Electric
Terra Spectrum Technologies
The Townsend Corp
Weed Control, Inc.
Xylem Tree Experts
2019
2019 ACRT; Asplundh; Davey; ArborMetrics; CNUC; ECI; PG&E; Mowbray’s Tree; Wright Tree; Ecology and Environment, Inc.; Jacobs; Lewis Tree Service; Nelson; NiSource; Trees, Inc.
2018
2018 Mowbray Tree; PG&E; ACRT; Davey, Asplundh; Wright Tree; Lewis Tree; National Grid; Xcel Energy; CNUC; Nelson Tree; Trees, LLC; Altec; Southco Industries; ECI Consulting
2017
2017 PG&E, ACRT, Davey, Xcel Energy, Asplundh, CNUC, ECI Consulting, Lewis Tree and Wright Tree
2016
2016 ACRT, CNUC, PG&E, Trees Inc.
Contact Us
Office Hours
Monday - Friday 8:00AM/CST- 5:00PM/CST
Address
2009 W. Broadway Ave, Suite 400
PMB 315
Forest Lake, MN 55025
Additional Info
Phone: 800-680-4106
Email: office@gotouaa.org
Cindy is the Senior Director, Vegetation Management Services and she manages departments responsible for maintaining vegetation in REC’s rights-of-way with the goal of reducing exposure of the electric grid to tree caused outages while encouraging habitat and species diversity. Cindy also has a consulting business, EcoAcumen, LLC that focuses on residential, commercial and government clients.
Kimberly Laing has had an exciting career in the energy industry, gaining valuable experience in various areas for almost 20 years. During her career, she has worked with numerous customers worldwide in a diverse cross-disciplined technical environment. She has extensive experience working with utilities, asset owners, equipment manufacturers, and consultants to facilitate transmission and distribution projects. Kimberly is particularly passionate about Utility Vegetation Management and its vital role in delivering safe and reliable power.
Josh Beaver is currently senior vice president of Eocene Environmental Group, a utility vegetation management (UVM) consulting and operations firm. Josh has more than two decades of experience within the UVM industry. He is currently responsible for relationship management and oversight of long-term UVM contracts throughout the United States and Canada. He considers customer and community communication to be vital aspects of his role, and he has a proven record of success working with utilities.
Sam joins the UAA crew with over a decade of non-profit experience behind her. As our Partnership Coordinator, her focused efforts on building relationships with diverse funders will include crafting proposals, cultivating connections, and cohesively earning dedicated sponsors to support the sustainability of UAA substantially and empowering our programs. Well equipped with professional skills which include program development, public speaking, proposal writing, donor relations, working with diverse stakeholders, coalition building, and public-facing service. Sam’s educational background includes a BS in Animal Ecology with a minor in Animal Science, and a MA in Philanthropy and Non-profit Development.
Sara Dreiser is a Senior Program Manager with ComEd. She works with a team to oversee ComEd’s routine cycle maintenance and ComEd’s interruption investigation programs. She has been working in the Vegetation Management industry for close to 15 years.
Matt Goff is a Transmission Vegetation Manager at Georgia Power Company. He lives in Brookhaven, GA with his wife, two daughters, and the family’s two dogs Sam, and Payton. For leisure, he enjoys sports with his family, bird hunting, and salt-water fishing.Matt holds a BSFR from the University of Georgia in Forest Resource Management and he graduated in 1997. He has worked in the vegetation management industry for 26 years. His work experience includes six years as a procurement forester for a forest products manufacturer, and 20 years in the utility vegetation management industry with Georgia Power.
Brandon graduated from Minnesota State University–Mankato with a B.S. in Geography. Brandon has been with Rainbow Tree Company since 2009 and has gained experience in several roles, including Business Developer for our utility products division, GIS Tree Inventory Analyst, and Technical Arborist. Brandon has been the Director of VM Services, the fastest growing division inRainbow Tree Company, since 2012.
A winner of the David H Nabi Award for dedication and service, Dr. Robert Vanderhoof earned his Ph.D. from the College of Forest Resources at Mississippi State University in 1995. A veteran natural resource manager, Robert spent 15 years as Florida’s Deer Management Section Chief during which time he coordinated range management activities across Florida’s seven-million-acre wildlife management area system.
Amanda Opp, Certified Utility Vegetation Management Professional Flathead Electric Cooperative, Integrated Services Manager, University of Wisconsin Stevens Point, Course Facilitator
Jim Neeser is a business developer for the Davey Resource Group, a division of the Davey Tree Expert Company. Jim primarily works with utility companies to provide innovative and customized solutions. Jim earned his AA from Vermillion Community College in 1997 and his BS in Forestry with an emphasis on Hydrology and Soils from the University of Minnesota in 2000. Jim is an ISA Certified Arborist with the Utility Specialist endorsement. Jim has been involved in the UAA training committee for nearly a decade as a past chairman and is currently the treasurer and Champion of the finance committee. Jim spent his first 7 years in the industry as a field arborist in the commercial and utility markets. The last 10 years, Jim has been working with utility companies to enhance their Integrated Vegetation Management programs. Jim’s other interests include spending time with his family, sports, hiking, fishing and coin collecting. Jim is also active with the Boy Scouts of America as an Eagle Scout. Jim lives in Forest Lake, MN with his wife and 2 children.
Adam’s experience includes leading business development strategies for a utility vegetation management consulting firm, vegetation management field operations at two major investor-owned utilities in the southeastern US, project management at a variety of utilities in the mid-Atlantic and southeastern regions, and vegetation management program development and assessments across the country. His utility arboricultural experience provides a broad understanding of the many different methods used to create a successful utility right-of-way, vegetation management program, including remote sensing, data analytics, optimization, and the utilization of third-party consulting foresters for planning and auditing duties.
Craig works for Pacific Gas and Electric as a Principal Program Manager in Land Management. His career spans 30 years in the utility industry serving numerous roles. He is an ISA Certified Arborist, Utility Specialist, and hold his TRAQ and is a TCIA Certified TreeCare Safety Professional. Craig has been engaged and involved in the UAA for many years, starting back in 2008. He then wanted more so he ran for UAA President and was elected in 2014. Today, Craig looks back over his 30-year career and wouldn’t change a thing, he’s made life-long friends and considers many as mentors. He also claims he would not be where is in his career if it weren’t for these people, and pledges to pay it forward to support others in their success.
Erin Creekmur has been in the UVM industry for over 20 years. After graduating with a Bachelors in Botany from Northern Arizona University she relocated to Northern California to start her professional career. Starting as a consulting utility pre-inspector with Western ECI she quickly moving up to the ranks to Supervisor under the tutelage of folks like Nelson Money. In 2004, Erin joined PG&E as a Quality Assurance Auditor for the VM program. Eventually becoming the Program Manager for the North Coast Division, helping stand up the beginnings of CEMA as the Emergency Drought Response Initiative Lead for the Enhanced Inspection & Mitigation Program, targeting off-cycle hazard trees across the system. In 2015, Erin moved back to her home state of Arizona and took the role of Division Supervisor with Arizona Public Service, managing both transmission and distribution UVM programs out of the Flagstaff area. As part of her role with APS Forestry Fire and Resource Management Department, Erin had responsibility for creating a Hazard Tree Mitigation program. maintaining APS’s ROW Stewardship Accreditation, FERC reporting, and the Transmission Lidar program. In 2021, Erin took a shift in her career and is now Supervising the Customer Construction and Design team for APS, expanding her overall understanding of the Utility industry. Erin continues to maintain her ISA Utility Specialist Certification and TRAQ. She has also completed certifications in both Six Sigma and Lean Sigma Green Belt through accredited universities. In addition to her current service on the UAA Board of Directors, Erin spent the last 6 years as an officer with the Arboretum at Flagstaff Board of Directors. In her free time, you can find Erin in the woods taking pictures of native plants and beautiful western landscapes.
Fallon is a Utility Arborist and Executive Director of the Utility Arborist Association. Prior to his current role he was responsible for leading vegetation management programs across several upper Midwest states on behalf of a large investor-owned utility. He’s also been an adjunct professor at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, where he facilitated the 
Renée is our Member Services Manager. She is available to UAA members for questions on committee assignments, educational opportunities, scholarships, CEU questions, and any other assistance.
Diona has been with the Utility Arborist Association (UAA) since December 2015 and has worked in various capacities within the organization.