New York State
Ornithological Association

For the birders and birds of the Empire State

NYSOA  Awards Program

This page last updated 9/16/24

Each fall, NYSOA presents awards at the Annual Meeting banquet. Nominations for awards can be made by member clubs/organizations. For the Stoner Award, nominations can be made by member clubs/organizations or individual NYSOA members.  The awards are:

 
Send nominations to the the .  The deadline for 2025 nominations is July 20, 2025.
 

The Gordon M. Meade Distinguished Service Award

This special award is given to individuals for outstanding service to NYSOA.  Send suggestions to the .

Most recently (in 2018), Tom Burke was recognized with the Gordon M. Meade Distinguished Service Award,  for his many distinguished contributions to the New York State Ornithological Association, and in particular for his thirty years of service as a member of the New York State Avian Records Committee. 

 
The previous 7 winners of the Gordon M. Meade Distinguished Service Award were:

  • Barbara Butler (2017)
  • Angus Wilson (2017)
  • Andy Mason (2014)
  • Carena Pooth (2012)
  • Phyllis Jones (2011)
  • Tim Baird (2010)
  • William B. Reeves (2009)

 
See a list of all Gordon M. Meade Award Winners since 1976  
 

 

The President's Award  

The President's Award was most recently given to three individuals, in 2022:

  • Gary Chapin, to recognize his many years of dedication in compiling meticulous records as Secretary of NYSARC.
  • Andy Mason, to recognize his many years of service to NYSOA, particularly as treasurer from 2010-2019, and as NYSOA Conservation Chair and advocate for the birds and birders of NYS.
 

The President's Award has previously been given to:

  • Joan Collins (2019)
  • Kathy Schneider (2019)
  • Robert Spahn (2019)
  • Carena Pooth (2018)
  • Irving Cantor (2017)
  • Barbara Butler (2014)
  • Jeanne Skelly (2007)
  • Bob Miller (2001)
  • Phyllis Jones (2000)
     

 

The Emanuel Levine Memorial Award  UPDATED 9/15/24

This award, formerly the John J. Elliott Award, recognizes the best Kingbird article each year, selected by the editorial staff. Editor Shai Mitra presented the 2024 Emanuel Levine Award for best article in The Kingbird in 2023 to J. Confer, J. (Gillis) MacCabe, M. Ulinski, B. McGuire, J. Gorges, B. Gorges, P. McNeil, T. Pfaff, G. Dodici, and Z. Casteel for their article, “Banding Northern Saw-whet Owls (Aegolius acadicus) at a field station in Central New York State” (The Kingbird, Vol. 73, No. 1, March 2023).

 

The previous 6 winners of the John J. Elliott / Emanuel Levine Memorial Award were:

  • Candace E. Cornell (2023)
  • Bill Evans (2022)
  • Willie D'Anna and NYSARC (2021)
  • Deborah Dohne (2020)
  • Waheed Bajwa (2019)
  • Sarah A. Lazazzero (Piecuch) and Christopher J. Norment (2018)

See a list of all John J. Elliott & Emanuel Levine Memorial Award Winners since 1965


The Lillian C. Stoner Award   UPDATED 2/28/24

In 1975 Lillian C. Stoner,  a founding member of the Federation of New York State Bird Clubs (now NYSOA), donated money to the organization to establish a fund to enable a student to attend the Annual Meeting each year. The intent of the award is not so much to recognize past achievement but rather to foster a promising young person’s interest in wild birds and ornithology by offering the education and experience of the fall conference.

 

NYSOA considers nominees who will, at the time of the conference, be in high school grades 10, 11, or 12 (sophomore, junior, or senior), or in one of their first two years in college (freshman or sophomore). Candidates may be anywhere along the birding skill spectrum from beginner to advanced. Our objective is to select winners who demonstrate a strong interest in wild birds and whose attendance at the Annual Meeting will positively influence their desire to pursue birding and/or ornithology as a lifelong interest.

 

Nominations may be made by NYSOA member clubs/organizations, NYSOA Individual/Family members, and the New York State Young Birders Club. Every student nominee for this award (whether a winner or not) will receive a one year membership in NYSOA. Each Lillian C. Stoner Award winner will receive a certificate and a monetary award to help defray the cost of attending the Annual Meeting. Winners will be honored publicly at the Annual Meeting banquet and announced in NYSOA's publications and website.

 

If you are interested in nominating a budding birder (or a more advanced one), submit a completed nomination form to the by July 20 for consideration in 2024.

 

There were two winners in 2023:   

  • Jesse LeBolt, high school senior, Jericho, NY
      nominated by the New York State Young Birders Club
  • Rion Yoshimura, high school senior, Harrison, NY
      nominated by the New York State Young Birders Club

 
Previous winners of the Lillian C. Stoner Award in recent years were:

  • Julien Amsellem (2022)
  • Iliana Dafoe (2022)
  • Nina Vigil (2022)
  • August Davidson-Onsgard (2019)
  • Adam Vinson (2019)
  • Ryan Zucker (2019)
  • Silas Hernandez (2018)
  • Avery Scott (2018)
  • Garret Van Gelder (2018)
  • Eamon Freiburger (2017)
  • Hannah Mirando (2017)
  • Kai Victor (2016)
  • Joseph Hernandez (2015)
  • Marc Katz (2014)


See a list of all Lillian C. Stoner Award Winners since 1975
  UPDATED 10/26/23
Download Lillian C. Stoner Award nomination form  
 

 

Certificates of Appreciation   UPDATED 11/16/24

In recent years, nominations have been accepted for recipients of Certificates of Appreciation.  Some of these certificates are awarded for exceptional efforts that benefited New York State birds and/or ornithology.  Others have been awarded to "hosts" of rare birds that visited New York State.  These hosts are recognized for their hospitality to birders who came to view the rare bird.  Nominations for Certificates of Appreciation should be submitted in letter form, providing the name and address of the nominee along with the reason for the nomination, to the .
 

In 2023 Certificates of Appreciation were awarded to:       

  • Saw Mill River Audubon, for hosting the 2023 NYSOA Annual Meeting / NYS Birders Conference
  • Darlene Massey, Eastport, for welcoming birders to see Calliope Hummingbird November 7-23, 2022
  • Denise & Timothy Carney, East Islip, for welcoming birders to see Summer Tanager 12/22/21-3/23/22
  • Adam Troyer, Birdsong Meadows Farm, for welcoming birders to see Scissor-tailed Flycatcher,
    April 28 – May 10, 2022
  • Marybeth Zilnicki, Riverhead, for welcoming birders to Allen's Hummingbird October 25-29, 2023

See a list of all Certificates of Appreciation since 2006    UPDATED 10/26/23
 

 

Member Club/Organization Grants

NYSOA is committed to facilitating the work of its member clubs/organizations and offers modest grants (usually less than $100) to help defray the costs associated with projects they undertake. In the past, grants have been awarded for purchases of equipment for specific projects (e.g. mistnets) and the printing of local or regional bird checklists.  More recently grants have gone toward establishing a bird sightings database and constructing an informational kiosk at Cayuga Lake.  Applications can be made at any time, and should include a brief description of the project, items to be produced, and a statement of how much funding is needed and how the funds will be used relative to the overall project budget.  Send applications in letter form to the .

A member club/organization grant was awarded most recently in 2010 to the Chestnut Ridge Hawkwatch to purchase one-page hawk identification guides for an educational event.
 
 

Newsletter Award

The Newsletter Award is presented to editors of member club/organization newsletters to recognize both the quality of content and the visual impact of newsletters.  Newsletter Awards were presented in 2000 to:

  • John Burroughs Natural History Society for The Chirp
  • Lake Erie Bird Club for Wrens’ Ramblings
  • Great South Bay Audubon Society for Sanderling
  • Moriches Bay Audubon Society for The Osprey
  • New York City Audubon for The Urban Audubon
  • The Raptor Club for The Raptor Report
  • Ralph T. Waterman Bird Club for the article "A Century of Change" by Stan DeOrsey in Wings over Dutchess


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