Michigan Trout Unlimited
MICHIGAN Trout
2021 Michigan Trout Unlimited Awards
18
by Tom Mundt
Fall/Winter 2021
During September, Michigan Trout Unlimited’s first inperson council meeting in over 18 months, we celebrated the contributions our members and chapters made to the protection of Michigan’s coldwater resources and presented awards for: • Chapter of the Year. This award is given annually to the chapter that best demonstrates membership engagement, financial growth and stability, and the protection of our coldwater resources. • Order of the Caddis. While technically an award, it’s more akin to being named to the Michigan TU “Hall of Fame.” • Art Neumann Award. This award is presented periodically to an individual or group for making outstanding contributions to Michigan TU’s mission and vision. This year’s award winners were selected from the nominations submitted to the Awards Committee, chaired by Jim Cantrill, council fundraising chair, Gabe Schneider, council vice-chair, John Zolan, president of the Ann Arbor Chapter, and Greg Walz, past council chair. I want to thank those who took the time to prepare and submit the nominations and the Awards Committee for sorting it all out. And the winners are: Chapter of the Year, Mason-Griffith Founders Chapter. While this past year may not have been conducive to in-person gatherings, this chapter accomplished a lot. Their team executed several key habitat improvements within the Upper Au Sable, including the placement of over 30 in-stream woody structures bringing the total to 65 installations over the past two years. They also collaborated with Michigan TU in a project allowing fish passage around the Grayling Fish Hatchery. This project along the East Branch of the Au Sable River includes a trail system to improve access to family and handicap-friendly fishing
areas. The chapter is also working closely with Michigan TU on the Upper Manistee River project. These initiatives are just a few of the contributions Mason-Griffith Founders has made to protect and restore the Upper Manistee and the birthplace of Trout Unlimited, the fabled Au Sable River. The Michigan TU Executive Committee sends a big congratulations to Chapter President Karen Harrison and her dedicated team for winning Chapter of the Year. The Michigan TU team also congratulates Karen for receiving the Michigan Environmental Council’s 2021 Petoskey Prize for her decades-long work protecting the Upper Manistee and Au Sable Rivers and keeping clean cold water flowing and healthy trout swimming. Order of The Caddis, Greg Walz. Greg, shown in the photo above accepting the award from Robb Smith, becomes the nineteenth person to be named to the “Order of the Caddis,” an honor he well deserves. I first met Greg at a council meeting at the RAM Center nearly a decade ago when he represented the Miller Van Winkle Chapter as president. Following his three-year tenure as MVW’s president, he served in 2015 and 2016 as the chapter’s treasurer/secretary and then secretary. In 2017, Greg became Michigan TU’s council vice-chair and then onto the chair position in 2018. Greg’s steady leadership style as a “we” guy and not a “me” guy calmly directed the organization through Covid-19 when it would have been easy to let the organization drift and become lethargic. Instead, Michigan TU held virtual meetings that promoted the extraordinary participation of its board members. Finally, Michigan TU thrived financially during Greg’s term from both increased individual donations and grant awards. Congratulations, Greg, on being named to the “Order of the Caddis.” Art Neumann Award. For the first time since its inception, we had two very qualified submissions for this prestigious award, which led
