NSS Certificate of Merit Awardees

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CERTIFICATE OF MERIT RECIPIENTS

This list is compiled from past issues of the NSS News and Section 6 of the Board of Governor's Manual. Some discrepancies between the NSS News and Section 6 listings were discovered while compiling this list and every effort was made to correct the discrepancies. Not all issues of the NSS News stated what the recipient(s) had done to receive the award. Special thanks to Bill Mixon for researching past issues of the NSS News to compile this list.

1950	J Harlen Bretz	Contributions to the knowledge of cave origins.
	William Davies	Description cave geology, especially state-wide cave surveys of West Virginia and Maryland.
	Ruben Garcia	Organizing speleological congress in Monterrey, Mexico.
	Betty Yoe	Service as NSS News mailer and NSS memberhip maintenance.
1951	Leroy Foote	Service as NSS treasurer for past 8 years.
	John Petrie	Service as an NSS officer for 10 years.
	Betty Yoe	Retiring as financial secretary of the NSS.
1952	Eugenio de Bellard Pietri	Helping arrange expedition to Venezuela and studies of the caves there.
	Chrissy Mansfield	Service as recording secretary for several years.
1953	Tex Helm	Photography in Carlsbad Caverns, especially the famous color photograph of the Big Room.
	Robert Lewis	Service for 5 years as business manager of the NSS News.
	Western Maryland Rail	Assistance in investigation of the deposits in Cumberland Bone Cave.
1954	Robert Hatt	Book Faunal and Archeological Researches in Yucatan Caves.
1955	Burton Faust	Service as an officer of the NSS.
	William Hill	Service as editor of the NSS News.
	Jerome Ludlow	Service as editor of NSS Bulletins 11-16.
	George Moore	Contributions to Speleology.
	Bernard Smeltzer	Contributions to Bulletin 15, Caves of Pennsylvania.
1956	Loren Woods & Robert Inger	Studies of North American cave fishes
	John W. Twente, Jr.	Dissertation on bats in gypsum caves.
	Roger Brucker and members of the Flint Ridge Project	Surveys showing cave development in flat-bedded limestone.
	Albert Skira, George Baittelle, Hans Hinz and Claudio Elmer	Book Lascaux or the Birth of Art.
1957	Alfred Bogli	Exploration and mapping of Holloch Cave.
	Huntley Ingalls	Photo-documentation of Cass Cave.
	Dorothy Reville	Editing the NSS News.
1958	Philip Livingston	Publisher of the last ten issues of the NSS Bulletin.
	Philip Smith	Applying speleological techniques to arctic crevasses.
	William White, Robert Dunn, Russell Howard and other members of the Pittsburgh Grotto	The Speleo Digest.
	Burton Faust	Extraordinary service to the NSS in many capacities.
	Antonio Nunez-Jimenez	Exploration and study of Cuban caves.
1959	Marjorie Sweeting	Geological study of caves in England and Jamaica.
	Jean Corbel	Monograph Les karsts de nord-ouest de l'Europe and other studies.
	Orlando Park	Studies of cave beetles of family Pselaphidae.
1960	William Halliday	Book Adventure is Underground.
	Tom Harrison	Archaeological work in the caves of Borneo.
	Joseph Lawrence, Jr.	Organizing the 1954 Crystal Cave Expedition.
	Brian O'Brien	Describing caves in Australia and founding the Australian Speleological Foundation.
	Clay Perry	Books on the caves of New York and New England.
1961	Thomas Barr, Jr.	Studies on evolution and ecology of cave animals.
	George Deike III	Thesis on cave development in Burnsville Cove.
	Oscar Hawksley, Frank Dahlgren and Jerry Vineyard	Missouri Speleological Survey.
1962	Samual Davis	Business manager of the NSS News.
	Aola Richards	Cave Biology of Australia and New Zealand.
1963	Richard Anderson	NSS Cave Files Committee.
	Masuzo Ueno	Cave Fauna of Japan and surrounding islands.
	Dwight Deal, Herb Conn and Jan Conn	Survey of Jewel Cave.
1964	James Reddell	Texas Speleological Survey.
	Hubert Trimmel	Internationale Bibliographie fur Spelaologie.
1965	Henry Douglas	Caves of Virginia.
	Arthur Lange and Raymond deSaussure	Cave Research Association, Cave Notes.
1966	John Guilday	Paleontology at New Paris sinkholes.
	Allen McCrady	Speleo Digest editing.
	Hermine Zotter	Water tracing in West Virginia.
1967	Lewis Bicking	Friars Hole Cave System.
	Donald Cournoyer	Years of service as NSS officer.
	Russell Gurnee	Rio Camuy Cave Project.
	Victor Schmidt	Efforts in cave conservation.
1968	Ralph Ewers and Cincinnati Museum of Natural History Board of Directors	Cave exhibits at Cincinnati Museum of Natural History.
	John Fish, Terry Raines and William Russell	Mexican caves, Caves of the Inter-American Highway.
	Theodore Schad	Financial work for the NSS and National Speleological Foundation.
1969	John Cooper, Tom Johnson and the Huntsville Grotto	Shelta Cave Project.
	John Carman	Legal advice to the NSS.
1970	John Holsinger	Dissertation on amphipod genus Stygonectes.
	Robert Mitchell	Dissertation on carabid beetle Rhadine subterranea.
	Arthur Palmer	Dissertation on Indiana karst hydrology.
	George Deike, III	Dissertation on cave development in Mammoth Cave region.
1971	George Benjamin	Exploration of underwater caves in the Caribbean.
	Derek Ford	Contributions to cave geology, leading the Macmaster University karst research team.
	Victor Schmidt	Contributions of cave conservation.
1972	Douglas Medville and Hazel Medville	Book Caves of Randolph County.
	Richard Franz and Dennis Slifer	Book Caves of Maryland.
	Larry E. Matthews	Book Descriptions of Tennessee Caves.
1973	Charles Brown	Dissertation on karst in the Canadian Rockies.
	Cave Research Foundation	Flint-Mammoth connection.
	Pete Lindsley	Guadalupe Cave Survey.
	William Varnedoe	Alabama Cave Survey.
1974	Joseph Jennings	Research on karst throughout the world.
	Watson Monroe	Study of Puerto Rican karst, glossary of karst.
	Henry Rauch	Dissertation research in the Appalachians, karst research center at West Virginia University.
	Roger Baroody	Caving in the Virginias, West Virginia Speleological Survey.
	Betty Mayo	Establishing a functional NSS office in Huntsville, AL.
1975	Robert Stitt	Efforts on cave conservation.
	Tom Poulson	Studies of aquatic cave animals.
	Stewart Peck	Chairing the Stone Research Grant Committee.
	Patty Jo Watson	Book Archeology of the Mammoth Cave Area.
1976	Ray Mansfield and Tony Oldham	Current Titles in Speleology.
	Peter Thompson and Russell Harmon	Pioneering efforts in radioactive dating and climate interpretation.
	Richard Powell	Dissertation on Indiana karst.
1977	Stewart Peck	Outstanding papers in biospeleology.
	John Stokes	Computerizing the NSS membership.
1978	Neil Montgomery	Book Single Rope Techniques.
	Carol Hill	Book Cave Minerals.
	David Culver	Studies of ecology of acquatic cave animals.
	Sara Corrie	Good fellowship and enthusiasm in vertical caving.
1979	Albert Hawkins	Mammoth Cave National Park master plan.
	Mark Grady and Mike McEachern	Cave inventory and evaluation in New Melones area.
1980	Daniel Smith	Founding the National Cave Rescue Commission.
	John Meenehan	Preserving the Culverwell drawings.
1981	Albert Mueller	Service to the National Speleological Foundation.
	Bernard Geze	Distinguished foreign contributions to speleology.
	Ivan Gams	Distinguished foreign contributions to speleology.
1982	8th ICS	Organizing Committee of the Eighth International Congress of Speleology.
	Roger Brucker and Richard Murray	Book Trapped!
	Sarah Bishop	Work on designation of Mammoth Cave as a World Heritage Site.
1983	Lynn Miller and Jane Miller	Indiana cave protection bill.
	Fred Grady	Trout Rocks caves acquisition.
1984	Nicholas Crawford	Karst studies program at Mammoth Cave.
	Kenrick Day	Conservation of Onyx Cave.
	Percy Dougherty	Cave Creek Cave Wilderness Study Area.
1985	James Hedges	Editing the NSS Bulletin.
	James Johnston	Managing NSS office and Shelta Cave.
	Jerry Thornton	Memorandum of Understanding with Bureau of Land Management.
1986	Frank Howarth	Studies of cave fauna of lava tubes.
	Fred Stone	Studies of Australian cave fauna.
1987	The Bighorn Cave Research Project	Cave exploration and study.
	Mike Dyas	Writing the "Dyas Digest" in the NSS News.
	Michael DiTonto	Karst research in Jamaica.
1988	Allen Padgett and Bruce Smith	Book On Rope.
	The Huautla Project	Cave exploration and mapping.
	John Clark	Legal work.
1989	Allen McCrady and Harold Hamilton	Paleontology field laboratory at New Paris sinkholes.
	John Scheltens and Janet Thorne	Federal Cave Resource Protection Act.
	Organ Cave System Project	Book Caves of the Organ Cave Plateau.
1990	Wakulla Springs Project	Exploration of Wakulla Springs and book.
	Gary Tennen and Randy Tufts	Exploration and protection of Kartchner Caverns.
	Peter Bosted and Karen Lindsley	Book Atlas of the Great Caves of the World.
	Philip Lucas	Computerization of Virginia Speleological Survey cave files.
1991	Judy Stack and Pennsylvania Cave Law Task Force	Passage of state cave protection act.
	Proyecto Papalo	Exploration of Sistema Cuicateco (now Cheve).
1992	Colorado Grotto and Management of Cave of the Winds	Management of Silent Splendor in Cave of the Winds.
	Spring Mill Project	Exploration and mapping of caves in Spring Mill State Park, Indiana.
	50-Year History Committee	NSS history book Caving in America.
1993	Karlin Meyers, Ernie Garza and Proyecto Cerro Rabon	Exploration project in southern Mexico.
	Dave Belski and Steve Peerman	New Mexico Gypsum Karst Project (GYPKAP).
	David Culver and Horton Hobbs, III	Popular education in biospeleology.
	Scott Hollow Project	Study of West Virginia cave.
1994	William Balfour	Databases on West Virginia caves.
	John Sutter	Cavers' e-mail list.
	Nicholas Crawford and Western Kentucky University Center for Cave and Karst Studies	Summer speleology courses at Mammoth Cave.
1995	George Dasher	Books On Station and The Caves and Karst of the Buckeye Creek Basin.
	Trevor Ford	Editing British journal Cave and Karst Science.
	Donald Paquette	Leadership in National Cave Rescue Commission.
	Tom Rea	NSS membership database program.
1996	The Lint Pickers Project	Conservation work in Carlsbad Caverns National Park.
	Keith Dunlap and the Indiana Karst Conservancy	Karst protection during Indiana highway project.
1997	Joshua Abdulla	Development of the NSS web home page.
	George Veni and Daniel Chess	Organizing AAAS Symposium.
1998	Southeastern Cave Conservancy	Purchase of Neversink Pit.
	Ira Sasowsky	Indexes to NSS Bulletin and Speleo Digest.
	John Hempel	Preservation of Chestnut Ridge karst area.
1999	Great Saltpetre Cave Preserve Committee	Cave management and protection of the Great Saltpetre Cave Preserve.
	Rod Horrocks	Coordination of volunteers at Timpanogos Cave National Monument.
	Roswell Jones and Bruce Bannerman	Audio-visual support to NSS Photo Salon and Awards Banquet.
2000	Christopher Richard	Cave exhibit at Oakland Museum.
	Front Royal Grotto	Protection of Riverside Karst Area, Virginia.
	Mid-Atlantic Karst Conservancy	Purchase of Billy Clay Pit, West Virginia.
2001	Scott Fee	Bringing the Speleo Digest series current.
	VPI Grotto	Study for protection of karst resources in Skydusky Hollow, Virginia.
	Randall Blackwood	Video Caves, Critters, and Speleology.
2002	Eric Hendrickson and Melissa Hendrickson	Passage of the Maine Cave Protection Law.
	Jim Nepstad	Cave management program at Wind Cave National Park.
	Paul Stevens and Lee Stevens	Leadership of the NSS Salon Committee.
2003	Peter Bosted	Cartographic innovation at Lilburn Cave.
	Annette Long and Mark Long	Protection of Manatee Spring Cave.
	Nashville Grotto	Protection of Spencer Mountain caves.
2004	Robert Burnett and Orion Knox	Cave Restoration Project at Gruta del Palmito, Mexico.
	Kevin Allred, Carlene Allred and Bob Richards	Publishing Kazamura Cave Atlas.
	Guadalupe Area of Cave Research Foundation	Conservation and restoration projects at Carlsbad Caverns National Park.
2005	David Culver and William White	Publishing Encyclopedia of Caves.
	Kelly Deem	NSS Fundraising auctions at conventions.
	Rocky Parson	West Virginia Quarry Law.
2006	Virginia Region	Continuing support of Grand Caverns in Grottoes. Virginia.
	Germany Valley Karst Survey and Gordon Brace	Reestablishing land owner relationships and involving many cavers in the continued exploration of this historic karst area.
2007	Jim C. Werker & Val Hildreth-Werker	Publication of Cave Conservation and Restoration
2008	Woodville Karst Plain Project	Connection of Wakulla Spring Cave to the Leon Sinks Cave System in northern Florida
	Marcus Gary and Bill Stone	Research at the deep water-filled, limestone sinks at Rancho La Azufrosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico
	Steve Bogaerts and Robbie Schmittner	Connection of Sistema Sac Actun to Sistema Nohoch Nah Chich in Quintana Roo, Mexico
2009	John J. Corcoran III	Initiation and continued management of the Fort Stanton Cave Study Project
	Rick and Faye Bowersox	Outstanding service with the Junior Speleological Society
	David W. Everton, William J. Baus, and the Richard Blenz Nature Conservancy	Conservation and Restoration of Buckner Cave, Indiana
2010	George R. Phillips	Rapid response to a major threat to Sharps Cave and the Elk River karst in West Virginia
	Peter Youngbaer	Work on behalf of the NSS concerning the White Nose Syndrome epidemic in bats
	15th ICS Organizing Committee	Work on the 2009 International Congress of Speleology
2011	Dr. Doug Boyer	Professional assistance to others and long-term studies of the effects of land-use and agricultural practices on the quality of water in caves and springs
	Paul Burger	Work to protect and document park caves at Carlsbad Caverns National Park
2012	Sewanee Mountain Grotto	Continuous conservation efforts directly impacting the Orme Mountain Road area of the Russell Cave National Monument Watershed
	Aida and Robert Mothes	Long-term management of the Friars Hole Cave System (WV)
2013	Jody Bailey	Design and production of a Lava Tube Caves poster displayed at NASA Lunar and Planetary Research Conference in Houston in 2012
2014	Maureen Handler	Representing the numerous volunteers who renovated the NSS Headquarters and Conference Center
	Edd Sorenson	At the risk of his own life, saved four people in 2012 in three separate cave diving incidents
	Bill Mixon	Put more than 3,000 maps of Mexican Caves on the Association for Mexican Cave Studies web site
2015	Bexar Grotto	For the organizing of the First Texas Hydro-Geo Workshop in 2014
	Philip Lucas & Nathan Farrar	For the writing and preparation of the book Caves of the Water Sinks Area
	Oregon High Desert Grotto	For its lead role in the Sandy Glacier Caves project
2015	Bexar Grotto	For the organizing of the First Texas Hydro-Geo Workshop in 2014
	Philip Lucas & Nathan Farrar	For the writing and preparation of the book Caves of the Water Sinks Area
	Oregon High Desert Grotto	For its lead role in the Sandy Glacier Caves project
2016	Peter Johnson/Derek Bristol	For Completion of the bolt climb up of Perseverence Dome in HellHole Cave
	Ron Delano/Donal Davis	For the publication of the Lechuguilla Triology
	Dr. Ronald J. Lipinski	For the development of the Fort Stanton Cave simulation program.
2017	Birmingham Grotto	For service to the society by renovating two pavilions at the NSS Headquarters and Conference Center in 2013 and 2014
	Bruce Rogers	For his work leading to the MoU between the Western Cave Conservancy and the Peninsula Open Space Trust
	Earl and Cheryl Suitor	For leading the effort to open and manage Sites Cave and Cave Rat Cave in West Virginia
2018	Butler Cave Conservation Society	For the compilation of the book: The Caves of Burnsville Cove, Virginia
	Fort Stanton Cave Study Project - editors Pete Lindsley and Lee Skinner	For the publication of the book: 12 Miles from Daylight: Fort Stanton Cave and the Snowy River Discovery.
2019	Michael and Donna Frazier	For their January 2018 purchase of Colorado’s historic Cave of the Clouds.
2020	Patti Cummings	For leadership of the Richard Blenz Nature Conservancy
	Ray Garton	For serving as treasurer and the publication-distribution person for the West Virginia Speleological Survey for almost 50 years
2021	Bob Gulden	For maintaining national and international long and deep cave lists
	2020 Virtual NSS Convention Staff	For putting on the NSS virtual convention.
2022	Jim Kennedy	For leadership and organization of the National Cave and Karst Management Symposium (NCKMS)
	Dave Springhetti, Nick Anderson, and John Scheltens	For fabrication and installation of replacement cave gates at two NSS preserves

This page was last updated on October 18, 2022
Contact Award Committee webmaster Tony Canike for comments or suggestions.

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