The Award of Merit is the highest honor paid by Tree Care Industry Association to an individual or company. The award nominations are due early in the fall and the award is presented at the Winter Management Conference.
Tom Golon:
"The Award of Merit, TCIA's highest award, is given to individuals and companies that represent true leadership in the field of arboriculture and long-term commitments to the industry.
Members of the TCIA Awards Committee this year were Past Chairs - Tim Harris, Greg Daniels, and myself. We unanimously recommended, and the Board of Directors wholeheartedly endorsed, their selection of someone to join the distinguished group of Award of Merit winners. We don't always give an Award of Merit each year, so this is considered our industry's most prestigious recognition.
When we think about selecting someone, or an institution, for this recognition, we are looking at significant industry-wide impact. For individuals, all of the check boxes of education, multiple certifications, owning or running a successful and respected company, visibility within our profession, and volunteerism are considered as baselines; and clearly, they are there in spades.
What makes someone within our profession stand out? This individual is certainly someone to whom others have turned for advice about their own companies for many years. This person is someone who has taken a company from its previous levels of expertise and made it relevant in the 21st century. This person is someone whom others have tried to emulate as a leader - within their own companies, communities, and in our associations. A frequent host to arborists from around the country, he is always willing to share what he has learned with others seeking new heights in running their own businesses.
When given opportunities to assist others and inspire others, he pushes for new visions of what we ought to be doing as an industry. He was one of the first to begin focusing the board on considering a credential for best business practices. As he took the reigns of leadership in our industry, he challenged us to get a grasp on the safety problem, which led to the development of the Model Company Safety Program.
As our industry has continued to wrestle with what the body of knowledge is for our profession and how to insure a stream of qualified employees to hire, he led the charge to endow a chair at the Stockbridge School at the University of Massachusetts.
What perhaps may never happen again in our industry is the thread that NAA and TCIA has had throughout this recipient's life in arboriculture as a staff member, a volunteer, and the President of a tree care company. A masters degreed arborist, this awardee once worked on the staff of NAA and began making his mark on the wider industry as a young professional. Later, hand-selected by the owner of the tree care company for which he worked, he became the CEO of a highly respected employee-owned company. For his efforts in leading his company, his employees and the company have been recognized through the years with numerous awards.
Having experienced what people can do when they come together for a greater good through his experiences at NAA, this recipient continued on a path of professional development and industry volunteerism. Believing that you get out of what you put into something, this awardee led by example serving on the Environmental Issues, Safety and Standards Committees to name but just a few. In the end his undeniable leadership skills led him to chair both the Massachusetts Arborist Association and the NAA Boards of Directors.
And so today, I consider it a real privilege, with Jeannie's kind agreement, to be able to recognize on TCIA's behalf someone to whom I have looked as a mentor through the years. I also consider myself - as do many of you in this room - to be very fortunate to have the benefit of calling him a great friend.
It is an honor to announce that TCIA's 2008 Award of Merit is bestowed upon Mark Tobin, CEO of Hartney Greymont.
