The 2023 recipient of the Otto Tiemeier-Frank Cross Student Scholarship was awarded to Blake Hansen, a graduate student for Dr. James Whitney at Pittsburg State University, at the 2023 Kansas AFS Chapter Business meeting at the Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference in Overland Park. Please see below for a portion from the nomination letter provided by Dr. Whitney that highlights the distinction, work ethic, and high academic standing for Blake that made him an excellent recipient of the award with a promising, bright future ahead of him in the fisheries field. Congrats, Blake!
Thursday, February 16, 2023
2023 OTTO TIEMEIER-FRANK CROSS STUDENT SCHOLARSHIP AWARDED - Blake Hansen, Pittsburg State University Graduate Student
2023 KANSAS AFS CHAPTER AWARD WINNERS / Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference
The Awards Subcommittee of the Kansas Chapter of the
American Fisheries Society would like to recognize several award winners during
presentations held on February 14th in Overland Park, Kansas (as
part of the Midwest Fish & Wildlife Conference).
Dr. James Whitney (Associate Professor of Biology - Pittsburg State University)–
Past president
There were
a few great presentations at the 2023 Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, and
likely would have been more if the Awards Subcommittee did a better job
indicating that those were the presentations that would be judged. The Kansas
Natural Resources Conference had several presentations as well but those
weren’t included in the Kansas Chapter of the American Fisheries Society’s
award process in 2023.
These
meetings would not be as valuable without your willingness to share your
research and management findings. We thank those presenters and encourage
others to share their project outcomes at next years’ meeting. The winners of
the 2023 awards are as follows:
Best Professional
Presentation
Susan Steffen (Human Dimensions Specialist - KDWP): Effect of Invasive carp on Kansas
River recreationists
Best Student
Presentation
Ethan Rasset (Graduate Student - Missouri State University): Investigating invasive carp in
the Neosho River
Best Professional
Poster
Ben Neely (Fisheries Research Biologist - KDWP): Status of Freshwater Drum in
Kansas impoundments with emphasis on three populations
Best Student Poster
William (Brendon)
Mason (Graduate Student - Fort Hays State University): Evaluating
size structure and growth rates of Flathead Catfish in four western Kansas
reservoirs
-Bryan
Sowards
Award
Committee Chairman