NOHVCC AWARDS

Award night recognizes dozens of hard-working folks who are helping to ensure the future of OHV recreation

Long-time North Carolina Representative and past Board member Brian Sears received one of the four NOHVCC Hall of Fame awards this year. Brian is resigning his posts this year to spend more time with his family and traveling by street bike throughout the country.

Iowa's Ken Meyers (left, in a picture from the mid-'90s), was posthumously awarded a NOHVCC Hall of Fame plaque this year. Ken was involved in the NOHVCC from it's very early days and still has many friends who are a part of the organization, some of whom spoke about him during the induction. Meyer's long list of accomplishments include being involved in the formation of the Iowa OHV Association and getting state registration for ATVs and dirt bikes and getting Iowa's first OHV park opened up (Plum Creek). Ken passed away suddenly in 1997. Current IOHVA President Andy Kyner accepted the award for Ken. In case you're wondering, that's Ken's good friend (and former Iowan) Bob Walker presenting a past award.

Former President of the Board of Directors Bob Hammond accepted a NOHVCC Hall of Fame trophy for his many years of service to the organization. A long-time resident of the Washington D.C. area, Bob recently relocated to Idaho where he says there are a lot more riding opportunities!

Florida's Jack Terrell has run the entire gamut within the NOHVCC organization. He began as a state representative in 1992, was elected to the Board of Directors in 1995 and became a staff member in January 2005 (NOHVCC Project Coordinator). At this year's conference he was inducted into the NOHVCC Hall of Fame. And on top of all this he still finds time to compete in Hare Scrambles throughout the Sunshine State!

Arizona's Sandy McCullen (left) receives the Never, Never, Never Quitting! award from the NOHVCC's Dana Bell. Sandy has been instrumental in the formation of the Arizona state OHV association as well as working hard on the USFS Route Designation process.

Minnesota's Karen Umphress (right) shows off her Walks the Talk Representative of the Year award. Karen attended numerous OHV events throughout '06 and always went the extra mile to get Adventure Trail materials into the hands of the young folks. She also serves as an OHV enthusiast on the American Trails Board of Directors.

The Service Award went to Bob Walker (right) of the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks division. Bob has been the point man for the National Association of OHV Program Managers annual conference ever since its inception in 2001.

The NOHVCC Association of the Year award went to the Colorado OHV Coalition (COHVCO). NOHVCC Executive Director Russ Ehnes noted the organization's "history of very successful OHV Management Workshops and the strides COHVCO has taken leading the way with the development of the DVD for GPS training and their Colorado Trail Patrol and "Stay The Trail" programs promoting education and awareness of responsible OHV recreation in Colorado". Accepting the award for COHVCO is, left to right, Jim Cooper, Valerie Douglas, Corey Corbett and Steve Gunderson.

 A longtime land-use advocate, Ron Loomis of Nevada, had an especially busy, and sometimes frustrating, 2006. For this he got the Never, Never, Never Quitting! award. Ron is famous in his neck of the woods for starting the Church of the Great Outdoors and becoming a registered Reverend after BLM officials claimed that in order for him to hold an organized riding event on a particular piece of land it had to be religious in nature!

Our riding hosts for the '07 Conferences were the gang from the Hatfield/McCoy trail system. They were honored with the Trail Blazers Award for '06.  Mike Pinkerton (second from the right) is the current West Virginia NOHVCC State Representative and was voted into the NOHVCC Board of Directors on Sunday morning.

Other awards from the 2007 Conference include include Kathy Dolinor, Superintendent of Ocotillo Wells (CA) State Vehicular Recreation Area,  Land Manager of the Year, and Dan Nitzel (NE), State Representative of the Year.