About the Award
The Distinguished Service Award is presented to members who have distinguished themselves in singular and beneficial long-term service to RMS-AAPG, with emphasis on long-term and at the same time, meaningful service to the Association.
Previous Winners
2024
Michael Vanden Berg – Utah Geological Association
Mike Vanden Berg has served as an RMS-AAPG officer (2010-2014), including Section President in 2013, and General Chair of the very successful 2018 AAPG ACE (Annual Convention and Expo) in Salt Lake City. In both cases, Mike was heavily involved in all aspects of the planning and running of each convention. He also instituted innovative new ideas and activities to attract more participants to the “non-oil city” of Salt Lake. During the 2018 ACE meeting, Mike developed huge core and dinosaur displays in the exhibit hall, prompted speaker gift funds to be reallocated to make a significant donation from AAPG to “Friends of the Great Salt Lake” to help preserve the unique ecology of the lake (AAPG was reflected well in the eyes of the local environmental community), and who could forget his skiing video at the beginning of the Opening Session to set the exciting tone for the 2018 ACE! In addition to running both the 2013 RMS- AAPG Annual Meeting and 2018 AAPG ACE, Mike still made time to present his own research (as he has done at regional and ACE meetings year after year) as well as lead field trips and conduct core workshops featuring his work on the Green River Formation and the Great Salt Lake! Finally, Mike and his research has been featured in several issues of AAPG’s Explorer. Mike’s leadership, creative ideas, volunteer hours, extensive technical contributions, etc., make him truly worthy of AAPG’s Distinguished Service Award.
2023
Dr. Stephan H. Nordeng – North Dakota Geological Society
Stephan H. Nordeng (Steve) has been an active member in the North Dakota Geological Society, Rocky Mountain Section, and national AAPG, regularly presenting research and serving as an author at annual meetings. Through his research and outreach, he played a crucial role in helping to unlock the unconventional Bakken-Three Forks play while working for the North Dakota Geological Survey (NDGS), sharing his expertise with petroleum geologists and engineers through numerous papers, presentations, and discussions. Steve’s efforts have not only contributed to regional industry growth but also facilitated the transfer of Bakken technology to other sedimentary basins, revitalizing the Rocky Mountain Section and the wider United States. Steve has also been a mentor to numerous young geologists and professionals during his tenure at the NDGS and later as a faculty member at the University of North Dakota.
2022
Kim Miskell-Gerhardt moved to Durango in the late 1990s and joined the Four Corners Geological Society (FCGS), quickly becoming a key member. She has held every office in this AAPG Affiliated Society, including Treasurer, Secretary, Vice President, and President. In 2010, Kim served as the General Chair for the highly successful RMS-AAPG Annual Meeting in Durango, hosted by the FCGS. Since 2011, Kim has been a Director of the Rocky Mountain Section AAPG Foundation, and since 2014, she has served as the organization’s Secretary. In this role, Kim has brought rigor and organization, significantly improving the administration of the Grant Program for AAPG Student Chapters. Over the past eleven years, the Foundation has awarded over $135,000 in grants to as many as 25 different colleges and universities in the Rockies. Kim’s efforts in providing current contact information for schools with geoscience programs, her meticulous review of each application, and her communication with grant candidates have been keys to this program’s success. Kim is described by her peers as “articulate, professional, ethical, bright, gracious, classy, and fun.” For her dedicated service we proudly present Kim with the 2022 Distinguished Service Award.
2021
Lynette D. W. George has long been a loyal and exceptional servant to the Rocky Mountain Section of AAPG. In 1984 Lyn became the first woman president of the Wyoming Geological Association (WGA), and has been a role model for women in the geosciences throughout her career. She has held leadership positions on committees for the many notable RMS annual meetings held in Wyoming and hosted by the WGA. This includes serving as the program chair for the phenomenally successful 2005 Jackson Hole meeting, which had such high attendance and participant overflow that a hockey rink was commandeered to host a technical session. Lyn continues to represent sight to everything she does. She is the voice of reason in the room and a trusted counsel for all things related to the business of running our Section. And she is a wonderful friend and mentor to many young geoscientists who are following in her footsteps. Lyn is frankly a success with whom we are all better because our paths have crossed. For her dedicated service we are honored to present Lyn with the 2021 RMS-AAPG Distinguished Service Award.
2020
Rob Diedrich’s service to the Rocky Mountain Section of AAPG embodies both qualities of long term and beneficial service to the RMS-AAPG and associated societies. During his early career, he was active in the Wyoming Geological Association and continued involvement in the geologic community to the present. His service includes the officer rotations of both the Montana Geological Society and the RMS-AAPG, as well as serving as an AAPG delegate. Rob has served as President of the RMS-AAPG Foundation since 2007. In this capacity he has encouraged both student chapter participation, which has seen a tremendous growth under Rob, as well as supporting and encouraging the AAPG Distinguished lecture program. Rob was Co-Chair of the high successfully Section meeting held in Billings, Montana in 2006 and was heavily involved as an Advisor in planning of another highly successful Section meeting in Billings, in 2017. Since moving to Denver in 2015, he has been active in the RMAG on several committees. Rob has served the RMS-AAPG in these and many other important and specific ways, but the greatest way in which he has served the society is less objective, and quantifiable only through the quality and quantity of engaged members of the WGA, MGS, RMAG and RMS-AAPG today. Many individuals owe their participation and leadership in the RMS-AAPG and affiliated societies to Rob Diedrich. Through his influential, managerial positions at SM Energy Rob Diedrich always encouraged participation in the local and regional societies and by such introduced many new and active members to these societies thereby providing the most crucial resource a society needs. Rob is the ultimate networker and collaborator and through such strives to bring the right people together be-it solving a geologic problem or staffing a volunteer organization. His ability to motivate and lead these teams means his impact goes far beyond what his hands touch – his impact can be found at every level in the organization today.
2019
For many years David Hawk has represented one of the Affiliated Societies, the Idaho Association of Petroleum Geologists (IAPG), at the annual RMS meetings. He has always been an active participant in creating a plan and vision for the RMS, assuring that the annual conferences are beneficial to membership. David is a former officer and president of the Rocky Mountain Section and has served the Rocky Mountain Section in numerous capacities. He has represented the RMS and the IAPG as a longtime member of the AAPG House of Delegates, serving on numerous committees and chairing the House in 2011. In 2013, David was honored with the Honorary Member of House award, acknowledging his dedication and years of service to the HoD. David has also worked to promote the teaching of science in grade schools as well as colleges and universities needs to be acknowledged, and he was also a co-chair of the first joint section meeting (Rocky Mtn and Pacific) in Las Vegas. David joined the Rocky Mountain Section Foundation as an Advisor in 2011 and was elected to the Board of Directors in 2014, serving as the Investment Advisor. David is a valued member of the Foundation, providing insight and guidance not only on the investment strategy but also on the Foundation’s mission and outreach. He is forward thinking and always considers what is best for the Section’s members, especially the students.
2018
Jerry Walker has been a remarkable champion of the Rocky Mountain Section of AAPG throughout his career. He has always been one to roll up his sleeves and help, most notably co-chairing two RMS meetings, a most successful meeting in Jackson Hole in 2005 and our first joint section meeting with the Pacific Section in Las Vegas in 2016. Jerry ‘owned’ these meetings, putting in tremendous hours to make sure they were as successful as possible. And as a past chair, Jerry has been a source of guidance and support for all RMS members who have run or worked on annual section meetings. Jerry is considered by many the ‘de facto’ oil and gas geologist for the State of Nevada, and as such he has published many papers and has been a frequent presenter at Rocky Mountain Section meetings. In addition, Jerry has been a long standing AAPG House of Delegate member, representing the Nevada Petroleum and Geothermal Society. Jerry has also been a valued Director of the Rocky Mountain Section Foundation serving the Foundation for 16 years. As a Director, he is forward thinking and always considers what is best for our Section’s members and students. Jerry is certainly deserving of the 2018 RMS-AAPG Distinguished Service Award.
2017
Over his career, Robert (Bob) Schalla has had both direct and indirect involvement with new field discoveries and successful exploitation projects all across the US. In addition to his day-to-day work in the oil industry, Bob’s dedication to geology is further evidenced by well over 15 peer-reviewed publications from West Virginia to Nevada to the Montana Disturbed Belt. His is also more than willing to help with the less exciting aspects of advancing our science. Bob has donated innumerable hours of service as co-editor of several geology guidebooks, and as Chairman for the 2017 Rocky Mountain Sectional Meeting of the AAPG. Need help? Ask Bob. What mineral is this? Ask Bob. Successful exploration? Ask Bob. Bob is a geologist, through and through. He is generous with his time and his knowledge and his wisdom. His passion for geology mirrors the works of Louis Agassiz: “The world is the geology’s great puzzle-box; he stands before it like the child to whom the separate pieces of his puzzle remain a mystery till he detects their relation and sees where they fit, and then his fragments grow at once into a connected picture beneath his hand.”
2016
Donna S. Anderson, in recognition of her many years of service in support of the Rocky Mountain Section of AAPG. Donna has served the geologic community and the Rocky Mountain Section in particular with her active service over many years. She served every office of the Rocky Mountain Section serving as President in 2004-2005, overlapping her tenure as President of the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists (RMAG). She also co-chaired the RMS meeting in 2008, was technical co-chair of the RMS meeting in 2014 and has served as the RMS’s liaison to the AAPG executive board. AAPG has also benefitted from Donna’s expertise and enthusiasm when she was the technical co-chair for the 2015 ACE held in Denver. In addition, she has served on the boards of the Energy Minerals Division, Division of Professional Affairs and the House of Delegates. Donna has a very strong ethic of giving back to her community, whether it’s her local neighbors or her geologic colleagues. She has always had an attitude that you get back five-fold what you put into an organization. Along with her service, she brings an outlook of calm, optimism and practicality even when the situation is difficult. The Rocky Mountain Section of AAPG is honored to award Donna S. Anderson its Distinguished Service Award.
2015
Dr. Steven Schamel (GEOX Consulting, Inc.) epitomizes what service is all about. He is presently ending his term as chair of the AAPG’s Sections Committee where he instituted a communication system which has led to better collaboration between and improvement of the domestic sections within AAPG, including the Rocky Mountain Section. He also chairs the Energy Minerals Division’s Oil Sands Committee. Previously, Dr. Schamel has served the Rocky Mountain Section and the profession in numerous capacities including President of the RMS-AAPG in 2006 – 2007. In addition to his contributions to the AAPG and to the Section, he was President of the Utah Geological Association from 2010 – 2011 and Chairman of the Society of Petroleum Engineers Salt Lake Petroleum Section from 2001 – 2002. As history shows, no matter the entity Dr. Schamel serves, he always strives to form a collaboration of stakeholders with an eye to increase the value of the association to its members.
(Sue Cluff presents award to Steve Shamel)
2014
Dr. Edward D. Dolly for his dedication to all of the members from all of the affiliated societies within the Section while serving as an officer and then RMS Advisory Council Representative to the AAPG.
(Dr. Edward D. Dolly presented by RMS-AAPG President Elmo Brown)
2013
Louis C. Bortz – long time RMS-AAPG member and Secretary/Treasurer of the RMS-AAPG Foundation
(2013 Award – Louis C. Bortz presented by RMS-AAPG President Michael Vandenberg)