Previous Year Honorees

Corps of Discovery National Conservation Award:

  • Johnny Morris, founder and CEO of Bass Pro Shops (2016)
  • Professional fishing legends Bill Dance, Roland Martin and Jimmy Houston (2017)
  • Tim “Mountain Man” Guraedy from the television series Duck Dynasty (2018)
  • Adam LaRoche, retired Major League Baseball first basemen and co-star of Outdoor Channel’s Buck Commander (2019)
  • Simon Roosevelt, great, great grandson of Theodore Roosevelt and principal of Olimpia Fund Management (2020 [postponed to May 2021])
  • Adam Wainwright, philanthropist and St. Louis Cardinals Pitcher (2021)
  • Mark Drury & Terry Drury, brothers, and co-owners of Drury Outdoors (2022)
  • Cody Stokes, CEO and founder of Dive Bomb Industries (2023)
  • Chad Pregracke, Founder and President of Living Lands & Waters (2024)
  • Peter W. Busch, philanthropist and conservationist (2025)

Pat Jones/York Spirit of the Wilderness National Conservation Award:

  • Pat Jones (Edward Jones) (2016)
  • Missouri Lieutenant Governor Mike Kehoe (2018)
  • Martin MacDonald, retired Bass Pro Shops Conservation Director (2019)
  • Penny Pennington, managing partner of Edward Jones (2020 [postponed to May 2021])
  • Rudi Roeslein, founder of Roeslein Alternative Energy (2021)
  • Carroll Wilkerson, co-founder, and Senior Wealth Advisor at WR Wealth Planner, a financial planning firm in Columbia, Mo. (2022)
  • Dr. Grant Woods, creator and host of GrowingDer.tv and President of Woods & Associates (2023)
  • James T. Blair IV, Former MDC Commissioner and Moneta Group partner (2024)
  • Bob Brinkmann, civic leader and founder of Brinkmann Constructors (2025)

Governor’s State of Missouri Conservation Award:

  • Bill and Becky Ambrose (2016)
  • Howard Wood, former Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) Commissioner (2018)
  • Larry and Brenda Potterfield, MidwayUSA owners (2019)
  • Marilynn Bradford, former MDC Commissioner (2020 [postponed to May 2021])
  • Barry Orscheln, Missouri Department of Conservation commissioner and chairman and CEO of Orscheln Industries (2021)
  • U.S. Sentaor Roy Blunt, Chairman of the Senate Republican Policy Committee and as the Ranking Member of the Senate Rules Committee, (2022)
  • Chip McGeehan, owner and operator of 19 McDonald’s franchises in southwest Missouri (2023)
  • Jeff Churan, Former MDC Commissioner (2024)
  • Sara Parker Pauley, former and first woman director of MDC (2025)

Missouri Legacy Conservation Award:

  • Glenn Chambers, noted wildlife conservationist, photographer and videographer (2017)
  • Brad Jacobs, former MDC ornithologist (2020 [postponed to May 2021])
  • Rick and Lotsie Holton, lifelong philanthropists and conservationists (2021)
  • Chip and Teresa McGeehan, owners and operators of 19 McDonald’s franchises in southwest Missouri (2022)
  • Ken Babcock, a lifetime conservation supporter and leader (2023)
  • Bruce & Jan Sassmann, Bruce is a Missouri State Representative, both are lifelong Missouri conservationists (2024)
  • Peter Wyse Jackson, former President of the Missouri Botanical Garden (2025)

Sacagawea Community and Partnership Conservation Award:

  • Ducks Unlimited (2016)
  • Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (2017)
  • National Wild Turkey Federation (2018)
  • Orscheln Farm & Home (2019)
  • Missouri Birding Society (2020 [postponed to May 2021])
  • Missouri Prairie Foundation (2021)
  • The Conservation Federation of Missouri, a nonprofit organization working to better Missouri’s natural resources and represent the state’s citizen conservationists (2022)
  • Burns & McDonnell, a company based in Kansas City providing engineering, architecture, construction, environmental and consulting solutions (2023)
  • Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Outdoor Fund (2024)
  • Great Rivers Habitat Alliance (2025)