The Wisconsin Woodland Owners Association presented several awards and re-elected a board member during its 30th anniversary annual meeting Sept. 12 in Stevens Point.
Jan Lehrer, Iola, was re-elected as a member of the WWOA board of directors. Lehrer and her husband, Lee, own 89 acres of woodlands in Waupaca and Portage counties. She has served as president of the WWOA Wolf River chapter and chairs the WWOA Education Committee and is a member of the membership, publicity and fundraising committees. She is a graduate of the Wisconsin Woodland Leadership Institute and will complete the Master Woodland Stewards program in January.
WWOA recognized Merlin Becker, of Manawa, for his years of service to the organization. He was presented with the WWOA Distinguished Service Award. This award is presented to individuals who have shown exceptional dedication, effort and achievement in furthering the goals and principles of the association.
Becker is a life member of WWOA. He served on the WWOA board of directors since 2004 and completed two years as president of WWOA in September. He was chairman of the president’s council on chapter chairs for two years and served on the awards and the gift shop committees. He was on the 1994 and 2004 WWOA annual meeting planning committees. Becker is an active member and past president of the WWOA Wolf River chapter.
On their woodland, he and his wife, Georgie, have hosted chapter field days, the Sunday field day for the 2004 annual meeting for over 200 members and an Open Woods field day in May, attended by over 100 woodland owners and guests.
As president of WWOA, he testified at numerous state as well as national hearings, participated in at least one meeting of each of WWOA’s committees and represented WWOA on the committee appointed by the Natural Resources Board to consider alternatives to the Earn-A-Buck program.
WWOA also recognized Nancy Bozek, Almond, for outstanding contributions to the association. She was presented with the WWOA Special Recognition Award. As executive director of WWOA, Bozek was described as operating like the hub of a wheel that is characterized by the organization’s leaders and surrounded by its members. She always keeps the private woodland owners uppermost in her mind as she pursues with other organizations those matters of mutual concern to woodland owners, especially to members of WWOA. She is thoughtful, competent and efficient in her approach to her work with and for the forestry community. Her love for forestry led her to earn a degree in forestry from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. She is genuine, caring, compassionate and exhibits excellence in her daily duties and is an expert on forestry issues.
When asked what she enjoys most, she said, “I really enjoy meeting WWOA members and learning about their woodlands; it’s the friendships and sharing among WWOA members that make this organization so special.”
WWOA was established in 1979 for and by Wisconsin’s private woodland owners interested in becoming better woodland stewards. WWOA publishes the quarterly award-winning magazine, Woodland Management, holds a four-day annual meeting and has 14 local chapters throughout Wisconsin. WWOA sponsors workshops and field days for woodland owners to learn from each other and natural resource professionals. Through WWOA, woodland owners will meet other woodland owners interested in good forest stewardship and find the woodland products and services needed to manage their woodlands.
For more information about WWOA or educational programs in Wisconsin, contact the WWOA office at 715-346-4798 or wwoa@uwsp.edu or visit the Web site at www.wisconsinwoodlands.org.
