Starting in 2021, the Executive Committee approved the creation of the Operator Recognition Award to recognize site operators who consistently go above and beyond the requirements of their job to ensure their sites produce the highest quality data possible. Open nominations are accepted for the award. There may be multiple recipients of the award every year. The award is presented by the nominator at the Joint meeting at either the Spring or Fall meetings.

Award Recipients

• 2021: Francis “Hoss” Parks (MD15) – Nominated by Winston Luke, ARL/NOAA and Rick Artz (retired)
  

  For 25 years of dedicated, meritorious service to NADP above and beyond the call of duty

  It is our great pleasure to nominate Mr. Francis W. “Hoss” Parks for the inaugural National Atmospheric Deposition Program’s Operator Recognition Award. On behalf of the NOAA Air Resources Laboratory (ARL), Mr. Parks has operated NADP’s National Trends Network (NTN) site on Smith Island, MD (MD15) since 1995. In the early 1990s, ARL partnered with coastal scientists to better determine the importance of atmospheric deposition to overall nitrogen loadings in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. To do that, we required the services of a top-quality operator at a remote site representative of background loadings in the bay region. We were very fortunate to hire Mr. Parks for the task, and he has demonstrated a remarkable dedication to excellence throughout his career with ARL. He has unfailingly collected daily and weekly precipitation samples for over twenty-six years, and has even postponed needed medical procedures to ensure that sample collection continued without interruption. Mr. Parks is also among a select group of site operators who work to maintain, rebuild, and improve site infrastructure at considerable cost savings to the program; continually provides valuable feedback to the NADP Program Office and Central Analytical Laboratory to improve sample deployment and collection protocols; and strives tirelessly to collect some of the highest-quality precipitation samples in the entire National Trends Network. For these and so many other reasons, we feel that Mr. Parks is richly deserving of the very first NADP Operator Recognition Award.


• 2023: Jim Renfro (TN11/TN12/TN01/TN97) – Nominated by Kristi Morris, National Park Service
  

  For exemplary service to NADP, sustaining and amplifying the value of the network

  Congratulations to Jim Renfro for being the recipient of the National Atmospheric Deposition Program’s Operator Recognition Award. Jim has operated several NADP sites at Great Smoky Mountains National Park including National Trends Network (NTN) site TN11, Mercury Deposition Network (MDN) sites TN11 and TN12, Mercury in Litterfall (MLN) site TN11 and TN97, and Ammonia Monitoring Network (AMoN) site TN01, starting in 1987. The National Park Service has been a longterm supporter of the NADP as a means of tracking trends in atmospheric deposition, quantifying inputs to sensitive ecosystems, and understanding the effects of these inputs on park resources. Jim is both a dedicated site operator with amazing attention to detail and a strong advocate for clean air in parks. In the course of his work, he has promoted scientific investigation of air quality at the park and given tours of the monitoring station to visitors ranging from elementary school-aged scientists to senators and congresspeople. Jim often highlights NADP as a tangible illustration of nature’s interconnectedness and points to the data record as evidence that air quality is improving. He recently hosted the 2022 NADP Fall Scientific Symposium Field Trip at Great Smoky Mountains National Park, inspiring all who attended with his enthusiasm for science and education. Jim’s message of stewardship and love of science will help ensure the protection and enjoyment of the park for future generations to come.