WPMC Awards

WPMC Awards

At the final meeting of the year, the Western Pennsylvania Mushroom Club presents awards to members for service during the year.

Western Pennsylvania Mushroom Club Honorary Members

Honorary Members are recognized as a members of the Western Pennsylvania Mushroom Club or mycologists who have rendered service distinguished from the ordinary to the WPMC. They have been approved by a super majority of the WPMC Board of Directors and majority of the WPMC members. The WPMC honors the following:

Gary Lincoff (d)
John (d) and Becky Plischke
John and Kim Plischke
Dick (d) and Mary Ellen (d) Dougall
Mike Lloyd
Dr. Ernst Both (d)
Barbara DeRiso
Dale Luthringer
Richard Jacob

(d) deceased

Outstanding Service Award

The Outstanding Service Award is awarded to one individual who in the year has performed signal service to the WPMC. Every year the president asks a board of 3 club members to choose the recipient for the Outstanding Service Award.

Recipients

2002 John Plischke III
2003 Dorothy Fornof
2004 Valerie Baker
2005 Becky Plischke
2006 La Monte Yarroll
2007 Glenn Carr
2008 Kim Plischke
2009 Joyce Gross
2010 Jim Tunney
2011 Barbara DeRiso
2012 Bob & Ginny Sleigh
2013 Richard Jacob
2014 Martha Wasik
2015 Barbara DeRiso
2016 Dick & Mary Ellen Dougall
2017 Cecily Franklin & La Monte Yarroll
2018 Kim & John Plischke III
2019 Jack & Valerie Baker
2020 Jim Wasik
2021 Fluff Berger
2022 Kris Murawski
2023 Jared Delaney

President’s Award

The President’s Award is awarded to an member whose service has contributed service to the President’s term.

Recipients

2004 John Plischke
2005 George & Mary Ann Yakulis
2006 Jim Strutz
2007 John Stuart
2008 Dick Dougall
2009 Bonnie Davis
2010 Barbara DeRiso
2011 Jim Wasik
2012 —
2013 Shirley Caseman
2014 Michael Yeh
2015 Cecily Franklin
2016 Scott Pavelle
2017 Ann ‘Fluff’ Berger
2018 Rebecca Miller & Mark Spear
2019 Adam Haritan
2020 Richard Jacob
2021 Cara Barkley Coulter
2022 Julie Travaglini
2023 Sara Klingensmith

Other awards

Club members have won a number of awards for their duties to Western Pennsylvania Mushroom Club or the mycological community as a whole. These awards are typically from the North American Mycological Association but could be from other organizations.

The Harry and Elsie Knighton Service Award

The Harry and Elsie Knighton Service Award was established by the NAMA Board of Trustees to recognize and encourage persons who have distinguished themselves in service to their local clubs. It is named for the Knightons, whose efforts began the North American Mycological Association in 1967.

2003 John Plischke III
2006 Dick Dougall
2009 Joyce Gross
2016 Richard Jacob

Gary Lincoff Award for Contributions to Amateur Mycology

NAMA’s Award for Contributions to Amateur Mycology is given annually to recognize a person who has contributed extraordinarily to the advancement of amateur mycology. Its recipients have often extensively conducted workshops, led forays, written or lectured widely about mushrooms and identifying mushrooms, all on a national or international level. In 2015, the name of the award was officially changed to recognize the contributions of Gary Lincoff; now the Gary Lincoff Award for Contributions to Amateur Mycology.