PRAISE TO OUR VOLUNTEERS

Many Thanks!

In 2008, California Waterfowl Association was delighted to honor several of the many volunteers who dedicate their time toward our mission. Our thanks go to the following individuals for their commitment to the ducks:

California Heritage Award
This award recognizes extraordinary work in preserving our outdoor heritage through a dedicated partnership with California Waterfowl, working cooperatively to preserve and enhance outdoor traditions and resources.

Recipient:  Paul Buttner
Paul Buttner has served as Manager of Environmental Affairs at the California Rice Commission since 2001. He has 20 years of environmental management and public policy experience. In his role at the California Rice Commission, Paul manages a variety of environmental issues facing the industry, including wildlife conservation programs that are so important to the branding of California rice as the “environmental commodity.” In partnership with the Central Valley’s managed wetlands, rice provides an additional 500,000 acres that contribute to the health of waterfowl populations using the Pacific Flyway.

Hunter Conservationist Award
This award goes to an individual who has made an exceptional effort to promote the positive image of hunting and the important role hunters play in conservation efforts in California.

Recipient:  Nicholas Piediscalzi
Nick Piediscalzi has a life-long passion for the outdoors. Inspired by childhood duck hunting trips with his grandfather in California’s Butte Sink, Nick worked as an environmental lawyer and now does eco-friendly real estate development in Northern California. He has been an enthusiastic California Waterfowl member for several years, helping raise awareness of the association’s mission and programs among the private foundation community. His work is helping California Waterfowl connect with the non-hunting population through food, art, ethics, lifestyle, and conservation.

Ambassador Award
This award is presented to the individual or entity that has made an exceptional effort in raising the awareness of California Waterfowl within the general public, and defining our association’s reputation and credibility.

Recipient:  Mike Eberhard
Mike is a California Waterfowl Life Member and sits on California Waterfowl’s Board of Directors. He has been instrumental in establishing membership and support for California Waterfowl among Southern California outdoorsmen. Mike attended the University of San Francisco and after 15 years of varied management experience with nonprofit hospitals and heath care companies, he founded Medical Pathways Management Corporation, a California company focused on care management. He now resides in Southern California where he continues to champion California Waterfowl’s mission.

Malcolm D. King Award
This award recognizes the integration of wildlife-friendly farming and ranching practices for conservation. The late Malcolm D. King benefited the wildlife that inhabited his ranch in Ukiah, California. In addition, King dedicated his time through membership in the California Bluebird Recovery Program and the California Wood Duck Program.

Recipient:  Eric Foraker
 A California Waterfowl Life Member, Erik has been a long-term supporter of California Waterfowl’s efforts. As proprietor of the Murdock Gun Club in the Butte Sink, he was an original participant in the joint California Waterfowl-California Department of Fish and Game Agricultural Enhancement Program in the early 90s. Additionally, Erik has been an ardent proponent of California Waterfowl’s Wood Duck Program and a charter member of the California Waterfowl South Bay Chapter. More than 13,000 wood duck ducklings have hatched due to enhancement efforts on his property.

Frank C. Bellrose Award
This award honors extraordinary efforts on behalf of wood ducks and the California Wood Duck Program. Dr. Frank C. Bellrose was one of the leading authorities on waterfowl in the world and a pioneer the use of nest boxes to increase wood duck populations in North America.

Recipient:  Jeff Roderick
Longtime California Waterfowl supporter Jeff Roderick has received many honors, including California Waterfowl’s Artist of the Year. His work has appeared on several covers of California Waterfowl. Roderick began drawing as a child and started hunting and painting at age 12. A generous donor, Jeff has donated many pieces to California Waterfowl over the years, including several pieces to our Wood Duck Program. He also donates to Ducks Unlimited, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Quail Unlimited, and others.

A. Starker Leopold Award
This honor recognizes exceptional waterfowl and wetland efforts. The late Dr. A. Starker Leopold is well remembered for his influences on public and private agencies in California as they developed ways to preserve wildlife resources in a changing society.

Recipient:  Phil Hogan
Phil is involved with land use and farmland protection efforts in Yolo County and beyond. He helped initiate the use of the Land Evaluation and Site Assessment System (LESA) for Yolo County in the mid 1990s, and continues to make presentations in other counties on the use of LESA at the local level. Phil sits on the board of directors for the Woodland Chamber of Commerce and is active in the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program, the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, and the local Boy Scout Troop as a merit badge counselor.

Joseph M. Long Award
This award recognizes outstanding waterfowl resource management efforts. The late Joseph M. Long was an enthusiastic supporter of waterfowl and California Waterfowl throughout his life. He also served a two-year term as California Waterfowl President.

Recipient:  Robert “Buz” Loring
A California Waterfowl Life Benefactor, Buz is a generous supporter of many California Waterfowl programs. He is a very passionate outdoorsman who has hunted all over the North American continent. As owner of Closed Zoned Farms, 350 acres of wetland marsh that he developed in the Upper Butte Basin of California, he has shown exemplary efforts in waterfowl resource management. Buz is the owner of Three Seasons Development, a land development and home building company in the Redding area where he resides with his wife Cheryl.

Harry C. Adamson Award
This award recognizes creativity, exemplary efforts ,and generosity on behalf of California’s waterfowl, wetlands, and outdoor heritage. Renowned Wildlife Artist Harry Curieux Adamson has captured the majesty of waterfowl habitats in hundreds of paintings. He and his wife, Betty, have raised more than $1 million dollars for conservation.

Recipient:  Rich Radigonda
A California Waterfowl Life Member, Rich Radigonda has been a generous donor and a dedicated supporter of California Waterfowl’s mission for more than 25 years. Rich’s artwork has graced the California State Duck Stamp and many covers of California Waterfowl. His images have appeared on the world famous Paraduxx wine label and countless Ducks Unlimited and California Waterfowl apparel. Rich is also an award-winning photographer and decoy carver. His “on the spot” pencil sketches have raised thousands of dollars at California Waterfowl events over the past three decades.

K.H. Hofmann Youth Education Award 
This award recognizes exceptional efforts to promote and support youth programs that educate and inspire future hunter conservationists. The K.H. Hofmann Foundation supports California Waterfowl’s Youth Program, as well as the Community Youth Center and other valuable youth and conservation efforts.

Recipient:  Henry Trione
A California Waterfowl Silver Benefactor, Henry Trione has been a dedicated supporter of many California Waterfowl programs. Henry worked in partnership with California Waterfowl and generously funded the publishing of A Jewel in the Pacific Flyway, an in depth look at Gray Lodge by John Cowan. In addition, he has hosted several very successful friend-raising events to generate support for California Waterfowl’s Youth and Education programs. Mr.Trione has been a passionate hunter and conservationist through the years, generously supporting the work of both DU and California Waterfowl.

Artemis Award
This award is presented to a woman within the waterfowling community for inspiring and supporting positive outdoor experiences for women and helping to preserve our outdoor heritage.

Recipient:  Betty Adamson
Betty, a lifetime member of California Waterfowl, has been a major force in the waterfowl community in California for many years. Her infectious enthusiasm and passion for wildlife has clearly rubbed off on others. She has inspired many to go out and re-connect with the natural world around them. Betty’s commitment to helping raise awareness of California Waterfowl's mission and programs serve as a fantastic example to all of us and makes her a natural choice for the Artemis Award.

Dennis G. Raveling Award
This honor is awarded to an individual who has made vital contributions to the field of waterfowl research. A leading waterfowl expert, Dennis Raveling’s work is the basis for some of the most successful waterfowl and wetlands conservation programs in North America.

Recipient:  Paul Bonderson, Jr.
A California Waterfowl Gold Benefactor, Paul is a generous supporter of California Waterfowl’s mission. Paul is responsible for over 2,000 acres of habitat enhancements, including restoration of riparian wooded wetlands for resident wood ducks and wintering mallards, new wetlands for wintering waterfowl, summer-flooded brood ponds for locally breeding ducks, upland nesting fields, and wildlife friendly farm crops. Paul and his wife Sandi have left all of us who care about California’s precious waterfowl and wetlands an exceptional gift and are especially deserving of this award.

S. D. Bechtel Jr. Award
This honor is recognizes exceptional efforts in promoting and supporting California Waterfowl’s Mallard Legacy Program.

Recipient:  Paul Davies, Jr.
A California Waterfowl Ruby Benefactor, Mr. Davies has been a loyal member and supporter since 1981. Paul has attained his Ruby Benefactor level through many generous annual gifts to California Waterfowl’s Mallard Legacy Program. Paul is currently “busily retired,” after a long and successful career with the Bechtel Corporation. He is a passionate waterfowl hunter, and member (and past President) of the Greenhead Land Company in the Butte Sink. He has a deep appreciation for the importance of the conservation work and youth education efforts conducted by California Waterfowl.

Ray Lewis Lifetime Achievement Award
This prestigious award recognizes a lifetime of outstanding contributions to waterfowl and wetlands conservation in California.

Recipient:  The Eberhardt Family
The Eberhardt family has been synonymous with waterfowl and wetlands conservation for four generations. Robert M. (Bob) Eberhardt, his wife Mimi Eberhardt, and his brother Douglass M. Eberhardt are nationally involved with Ducks Unlimited (DU) and contributors to California Waterfowl. Leslie Eberhardt, her husband Steve Brown, and Douglass Ebrhardt II have all been involved with DU and California Waterfowl. Recently, the family has raised funds for California Waterfowl’s Youth and Education Programs and California Waterfowl’s Wood Duck Program. For decades, the Eberhardt/Brown families have made a commitment of volunteerism for waterfowl and wetlands in California.

Dan Chapin Award
This first annual award recognizes exemplary decision making and/or political service benefiting California’s waterfowl and/or waterfowl hunters. Dan Chapin was the first employee of California Waterfowl and focused on Government Affairs. He was instrumental in the passing of key legislation such as the Suisun Marsh Protection Act and the Central Valley Project Improvement Act.

Recipient:  Jim Kellogg
Accepting on behalf of Jim Kellog was John Carlson
Jim was appointed to the Fish and Game Commission on January 31, 2002. He was reappointed to a six-year term with the Commission in March 2006. Jim has been a good friend to California Waterfowl at the State Capitol and beyond for many years. A native of the Bay Area James W. Kellogg has spent 38 years with the United Association of Journeyman and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada (UA).

Grant Kenyon Award
This award recognizes outstanding legislative advocacy on behalf of waterfowl, their habitats, and our hunting heritage. Grant Kenyon served as a member of California Waterfowl’s Board of Directors, and his lobbying firm was renowned for its successes at the State Capitol working to benefit waterfowl and protecting hunting.

Recipient:  Richard Rogers
Accepting on behalf of Richard Rogers was John Carlson
Richard was appointed to the Fish and Game Commission on January 18, 2005. He is Chairman of the Board for Pacific Earth Resources, a diversified environmental horticulture services company. He has served on many state and national boards with a focus on conservation, bio-diversity, and the governance of philanthropic organizations. He formerly served six years on the California State Board of Forestry and was chair of the Forest Practice Committee. He is also General Partner for Pacific Ranch Company, a farming and real estate company with farming and investment operations in California, Hawaii, and Utah.

Board of Director’s Awards
Service on the California Waterfowl Board of Directors can be the most challenging task requested of any volunteer. Board members are required to shoulder the responsibility of fiduciary oversight necessary to assure the financial stability and success of California Waterfowl. They must also set policies and approve and monitor the success of the association’s Strategic Plan. California Waterfowl has been blessed by outstanding Board members, and we are forever indebted to their leadership. These awards recognize the outstanding efforts of this year’s board.
  

Special Service Award
This award is presented to our Outgoing Directors in honor of their service to the California Waterfowl.
                
Recipient:  George Tillotson
A Silver Benefactor and member of California Waterfowl’s Board of Directors, George was instrumental in the planning and coordination of California Waterfowl’s convention and awards banquet. For the past 30 years, he has been a wetlands manager in the Suisun Marsh. He was influential in activating California Waterfowl’s Pintail Committee in the 1990s and serves on several fundraising committees. He also served as a director of the Suisun Resource Conservation District and is a director of the Suisun Conservation Fund.

Director of the Year Award
This award is presented to a member of the Board of Directors that has shown exemplary service in the past year.

Recipient:  Phil Fischer
A California Waterfowl Life Sponsor, Phil is a member of California Waterfowl’s Regulations and Traditions Committee, the Public Hunters Committee, and Gray Lodge Cleanup Day. As a manager with Chevron-Texaco Company, he brings business management skills and a passion for the outdoors to California Waterfowl’s board. Other affiliations include the Council of Petroleum Accountants and Terrapins National Swim Team.

Volunteer Service Awards
Volunteers are the mainstay of California Waterfowl. Without their efforts we would be unable to carry out our important mission. A few select individuals are awarded this prestigious volunteer award each year in honor of their unique and generous contributions and outstanding volunteerism in support of California Waterfowl.

Recipients:
Carla Bonderson - Hulse –Youth & Education          
An outdoors enthusiast since childhood, Carla found her place with California Waterfowl as co-chair of the new Women’s Outdoor Connections committee, and through her valuable volunteer work she has found a way to ensure this tradition for future generations. Her work is helping create opportunities for women and families to get outdoors and strengthen their bonds.

Richard Chicca – Marin County Chapter
A California Waterfowl Life Donor, Rich has acted as co-chairman of the highly successful Marin County Dinner since 2005 and committee member since 2000. He has also acted as raffle and auction chairman for the Sonoma Pig Feed. A co-founder of the California Waterfowl Hunting Heritage Wine Program, Rich has spent countless hours volunteering his time to assure the program’s success.

Kevin Confetti – Contra Costa Chapter
A California Waterfowl Life Member, Kevin chairs the Contra Costa Crab Feed, one of California Waterfowl’s oldest and most successful fundraising events. It is Kevin’s attention to detail and tremendous leadership abilities that have kept Contra Costa at the top of California Waterfowl best events list. Kevin is also a member of California Waterfowl’s Solano Rib Feed Committee.

Richard and Jackie Falletti – Alameda Chapter       
Richard and Jackie are co-chairs of California Waterfowl’s highly successful Alameda Dinner. Together they have helped breath new life into one of California Waterfowl’s longest running events. Richard and Jackie were raised in Alameda and have been together since high school. Richard is an avid duck hunter and fisherman, and enjoys falconry and taxidermy. Jackie enjoys fishing, hunting, and coaching sports teams.

Phil Grunert – North Coast Chapter  
Phil is one of California Waterfowl’s most active volunteers in the North Coast Region. He has been a driving force of the North Coast Chapter for over a decade, acting as both chairman and co-chairman. Organizing youth hunts is his passion and his work with the SHARE program has been instrumental in providing increased hunter access in the North Coast Region.

Bill Hedgpeth – South Bay Chapter
A California Waterfowl Life Member, Bill is an active member of the California Waterfowl Board of Directors. He is also a charter member of the South Bay Dinner, an event that has raised over $1 million in support of California Waterfowl’s mission. Bill brings a community spirit and enthusiasm for preserving waterfowl habitat and our outdoor heritage to each event he is a part of.

Susan Helms – Youth & Education
Susan has been chairwoman of the Humboldt Outdoor Adventures day the last three years, and has spearheaded this year’s youth pre-season hunters tune-up day. She has been on the committee in Humboldt and volunteered at women’s/youth pheasant hunts for the last five years. Susan has also been a part of California Waterfowl’s Women Outdoor Connections group since its conception.

Terry Holberton III – Southern California
A California Waterfowl Bronze Benefactor, Terry was instrumental in organizing the highly successful Southern California Shoot and BBQ. He also serves as a California Waterfowl Associate Director and a member of Regulations and Traditions Committee. Terry is a graduate of U.C. Berkeley and a former U.S.Marine Corps Officer; he now resides in Los Angeles with his wife Valerie.

Roger Horick –Petaluma Chapter
A native of Point Reyes, California, Roger has been an integral part of the California Waterfowl Petaluma Chapter for five years – soliciting donations, procuring firearms, and bringing new members into the fold. Roger is passionate about maintaining waterfowl populations for future generations and encourages all hunters to take part in California Waterfowl’s mission. Roger has hunted ducks for over 30 years.

Mark Judd – Northern California
A California Waterfowl Life Member, Mark has supported California Waterfowl through volunteer efforts for nearly 25 years. He has been chairman of the California Waterfowl Modesto Chapter and now serves on countless committees offering his help wherever he can. Mark coaches the local traveling baseball team, who wear California Waterfowl hats and fly a California Waterfowl banner.

Rik Jimerson – Yuba Sutter Chapter
A California Waterfowl Life Member, Rik has been an important part of the re-birth of California Waterfowl’s Yuba Sutter Chapter, acting as ticket chairman, treasurer, and master of ceremonies at one of California Waterfowl’s finest family events. A tireless volunteer, Rik has also worked with California Waterfowl on wood duck projects, egg salvage, and youth events.

Frank Johnson – Suisun Marsh Chapter
A California Waterfowl Life Sponsor, Frank has acted as Chairman of the Suisun Marsh Field Day for 20 years. The field day is perhaps the most important fundraiser California Waterfowl holds on an annual basis. Frank’s work ethic and organizational skills have been exemplary as he leads a group of volunteers through an event that requires year-round planning.

Rogers Johnson – Watsonville Chapter
Rogers is a founding member of the California Waterfowl Santa Cruz Chapter and the current chairman of the outstanding California Waterfowl Watsonville Chapter event. A tireless volunteer, Rogers has been an integral part of California Waterfowl’s success in the Central Coast for 15 years. Rogers’ passion is his Labrador retrievers and the pursuit of pheasants, prairie birds, and ducks.

Jim Knutson – Youth & Education
Jim has been a tremendous volunteer since the youth camps program started in 2005. In the last 18 months, Jim has volunteered a total of 22 days teaching hunter education, shotgun, archery, and hunting skills. Jim also worked on the committee for the Placerville dinner. He devotes time outside of camps for promotion and to generate donations for the camp program.

Lee Leardini – Marin County Chapter
A California Waterfowl Life Member, Lee has been an integral part of the North Bay Dinner and its success. Lee took over the duties as co-chairman in 2008, managing one of California Waterfowl’s longest running fundraising events. His attention to detail and organizational skills paid huge dividends. Lee has also been the driving force of California Waterfowl’s Hunting Heritage Wine Program.

Jim Martin – Special Recognition Junior Duck Stamp Award

Steve Medlen – Oakdale Chapter
Steve founded the California Waterfowl Oakdale Chapter in 2005. Under Steve’s leadership, the event has doubled in size since its inception, now netting in excess of $30,000. Prior to bringing his considerable fundraising talents to California Waterfowl, Steve was Chairman of the local DU chapter and committee for nearly 25 years.

Eric Paris – Stockton Chapter
Eric moved to Stockton in 2000, and was introduced to California Waterfowl through some friends who were on the local California Waterfowl committee. Eric assumed various positions on the local committee, eventually becoming committee chair in 2004. His leadership ability and organizational skills have been instrumental to the success of the Stockton Chapter.

Fotios “Frank” Theodoropoulos – Southern California
Frank has been instrumental in California Waterfowl’s growth in Southern California. He is the Chairman of the California Waterfowl Orange County Chapter, which he founded in 2003. He is also Chairman of the California Waterfowl El Centro Chapter. An excellent cook, Frank prepares the meals for the Orange County and El Centro Events as well as Orange County Country Safari Days.