The Pesticide Stewardship Alliance (TPSA) held its 11th annual conference in San Antonio, Texas in February 2011 and continued its tradition of presenting stewardship awards for outstanding contributions and programs. Five awards were presented:
Outstanding Member: Kevin Neal, Office of Indiana State Chemist. Kevin rose up through the ranks serving as member activist and then President for two terms, and has worked tirelessly to improve TPSA conferences over the years.
Program Excellence: The Washington State Waste Pesticide Identification and Disposal Program, Joe Hoffman, Program Coordinator. Washington State’s pesticide disposal program is among the oldest and most thorough. More than 2.5 million pounds of pesticides have been safely disposed of since 1988 and it maintains an outstanding database of collected products.
Program Innovation: Southern Region Pesticide Safety Education Center and The Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Website, Wayne Buhler, Professor North Carolina State. These two programs have served as outstanding resources to improve pesticide safety training and education in the United States and world. Wayne Buhler’s creativity and dedication has anchored these programs.
Leadership in Product Stewardship- Private (the “Pizzy Award”): J.D. Fish, Field Equipment and Application Manager, Bayer CropScience. J.D. is well known and respected across the entire pesticide industry and public sector. For 30 years, J.D. has dedicated his life to improving pesticide safety and training, developing field protocols, and facilitating the recycling of pesticide containers and Mini Bulks.
President’s Award: Fred Gabriel, Clean Harbors Environmental Services. Fred and his
company have been actively involved in TPSA for many years. More recently, Fred has served
as Chairman of the Board of Directors since 2006 and his leadership has played a critical role
as TPSA continues its growth and development..
TPSA is a true alliance being composed of many pesticide stewardship groups such as
container management companies, hazardous waste companies, agri-chemical registrants,
state governments, universities, and plastic processors. TPSA meets once per year at its
annual conference and will meet next in Boise, ID in early 2012.
