IA accepting nominations for annual awards

The Irrigation Association, Fairfax, Virginia, is accepting nominations for its annual awards until April 7.

Irrigation Association Awards, sponsored by Hunter | FX Luminaire | Senninger, include the Industry Achievement Award, the Innovator Award, the Vanguard Award and the Excellence in Education Award.

The Industry Achievement Award is the highest honor given by the IA, recognizing an individual from an industry firm who has made outstanding contributions to the advancement of the irrigation industry. Usually, one award is given per year and recipients can only be given this award once in their lifetime.

The 2022 Industry Achievement award went to Jack Buzzard, who retired after a 40-year career at Rain Bird and was a past IA president in 1995.

The Vanguard Award honors an innovative project in the irrigation industry executed by a team of individuals, companies, organizations or other group entities. In 2022, the Vanguard Award was presented to Netafim for its subsurface drip irrigation for dairy effluent water application project.

The Excellence in Education Award recognizes a person who is actively teaching or has formerly taught irrigation, water management, or water conservation in affiliation with a two- or four-year institution or the equivalent. The 2022 Excellence in Education Award went to Bradley Jakubowski, an instructor of plant and turfgrass science at Penn State University.

The Innovator Award honors individuals who have made significant, tangible contributions to the industry within the past five years.

Peer nominations are reviewed by the IA Awards and Honors Committee, and finalists are submitted to the full board of directors for approval. Awards are chosen at the board’s discretion and not necessarily distributed annually.

Nominations can be made online.

Read more about past winners.