Abby Holman Public Service Award
The Abby Holman Public Service Award is an annual award given by the Maine Forest Products Council to an individual (or individuals) in recognition of outstanding service on behalf of Maine’s forest products industry.
The criterion for this award is simple. The recipients must demonstrate a level of passion, loyalty, and dedication to Maine’s forest products industry, to good government, and a robust economy much the same way that our former (1998-2003) Executive Director Abigail Holman did.
Abby’s love of Maine and our natural resources showed in her work. And it was here that Abby built a reputation as a fierce defender of our traditional natural resource industries.
1999 John Williams (LURC)
2000 Sgt. David Peppard
2001 John Simko
2002 Hon. Clifton Foster and Hon. Walter Gooley
2003 Hon. Marge Kilkelly
2005 Kevin Stevens
2006 Sherry Huber
2007 Hon. Abigail Holman
2009 Doreen Sheive
2010 Hon. Richard Nass and Hon. Doug Smith
2011 Carol Woodcock
2012 Commissioner Bill Beardsley
2013 Dr. Robert Wagner
2014 Hon. Patrick Flood
2015 Keith Kanoti
2016 Dave Struble, MFS
2017 Barry Burgason
2018 Sarah Medina
2019 Steve Schley
2020 Doug Denico
2021 Al Cowperthwaite
2026 Patty Cormier
2022 Mike St. Peter
2023 Don Kleiner
2024 Paul Towle
2025 Dr. Angela Mech
Albert D. Nutting Award
The Maine Forest Products Council established the Albert D. Nutting Award in 1990, to commemorate the many contributions to Maine Forestry that Al Nutting was instrumental in creating.
He graduated from the University of Maine in 1927. He joined the UMaine Extension Service as forestry and home grounds specialist from 1931–48. He served as Maine forest commissioner from 1948-1958.
In 1958, he became director of UMaine’s School of Forest Resources, a position he held until 1971. As director, he helped develop forestry research legislation. During his tenure, a Ph.D. program in forestry was introduced and he received an honorary doctorate from UMaine in 1987. He also was one of the founders of the Maine Forest Products Council in 1961.
This award has been presented annually since 1990, to a remarkable group of individuals, each one of them truly unique, but with a common commitment to Maine and its forest industry.
“The recipient will have demonstrated recognized qualities of leadership and integrity, as well as a commitment to the values both public and private, generated from the working forest. His or her experience will reflect concern for the sound environmental use as well as the economic value of the forest to industry and the community at large.”
The plaque is printed on a black locust which grew on the lawn of the Nutting Homestead in Otisfield. The tree was planted before 1850 by one of Al Nutting’s ancestors.
1990 Austin Wilkins
1991 George Carlisle
1992 Brad Wellman
1993 Fred Knight
1994 Lawrence Robbins
1995 John Sinclair
1996 Joseph Sewall
1997 Dave Hancock
1998 Bob Cope
1999 Harold O. Bouchard
2000 J. Paul Levesque
2001 John Cureton
2002 Max McCormick
2003 Clifford Swenson
2004 Jenness Robbins
2005 Doug Denico
2006 David Field & Bruce Wiseman
2007 Johnathan Ford
2008 David Carlisle
2009 John Cashwell
2010 Fred Huntress
2011 Bob Chadbourne
2012 Don White
2013 Clifford E. Foster
2014 Luke Brochu
2015 Jim Robbins, Sr.
2016 Don Tardie
2017 Steve Schley
2018 Mark Doty
2023 Collin "Scott" Beal
2019 John McNulty
2024 Patrick Sirois
2021 Peter Triandafillou
2025 Patrick Strauch
2022 Gordon Gamble
2026 Allan Ryder
Outstanding Foresters
2010 Frank Cuff
2011 Ted Shina
2012 William "Bill" Brown
2013 David Cole
2014 Tricia Quinn
2015 Tom Whitworth
2023 Mark Vannah
2016 Mike Dann
2024 Matthew Stedman
2018 Vern Labbe
2025 Mike Treat
2019 Tim Sawyer
2026 Jeremy Stultz