2024 Commission Awards
Honoring the 2023 Commission Award Recipients
Commission Awards Banquet set for January 20, 2024
The annual Arizona Game and Fish Commission Awards Banquet will be Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024, at the Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs Resort, Grand Ballroom, 11111 N. 7th Street, Phoenix, Arizona 85020. The event will honor the recipients of the 2023 Commission Awards that were selected at the Commission’s Sept. 8, 2023 meeting (see award recipients below). The purpose of these awards is to recognize Arizonans who have contributed significantly to the conservation of the state’s wildlife, its outdoor heritage, and the mission of the Arizona Game and Fish Department.
The banquet will begin with a social hour at 4 p.m. followed by dinner at 5:30 p.m. The awards will be presented concurrently with dinner. We are looking forward to a great celebration of all our award recipients. The cost is $75 per person. All RSVP’s are due by Dec. 15, 2023.
2024 Commission Awards Banquet – Sponsorship & Ticket Registration
The Arizona Game and Fish Commission held its first annual awards banquet on January 12, 1991. Since then, nearly more than 400 recipients have been recognized with Commission awards. The awards banquet gives the Commission an opportunity to recognize individuals, groups and organizations for their contributions to Arizona’s wildlife resources.
All of the costs associated with the awards banquet must be paid for by ticket sales and sponsorship donations, including the complimentary tickets for award recipients and their spouse or guest. Table Sponsorships for organizations are available in several categories and include logo advertisement in event program, sponsorship recognition during introductory PowerPoint presentation, and recognition in event press release.
2023 award recipients
- Award of Excellence – Sheriff David Rhodes, Yavapai County and Sheriff Jim Driscoll, Coconino County
- Youth Conservationist of the Year – Charles Smalley
- Media of the Year – Henry Brean
- Conservation Organization of the Year – White Mountain Apache Tribe
- Conservationist of the Year – Troy Christensen
- Natural Resource Professional of the Year – Mike Hannemann
- Volunteer of the Year – Jim Lawrence
- Educator of the Year – Fred Cohill
- Mentor of the Year – Kevin Rapkoch
- Advocate of the Year (State) – Senator Sine Kerr
- Advocate of the Year (Federal) – Senator Kyrsten Sinema
- Business Partner of the Year – OneAZ Credit Union
- Buck Appleby Hunter Education Instructor of the Year – Ken Ford
- Wildlife Habitat Steward of the Year – Josiah Austin
- North American Model Commissioner’s Award – Micah White
Past Award Recipients
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