William J. Porter Award of Appreciation

Each year the William J. Porter Award of Appreciation is presented to someone who excels in their contribution to Arboriculture and has made significant strides to promote trees, education, and makes a positive impact to peers and colleagues.

At the NJ Shade Tree Federation's 97th Annual Conference, Liz Stewart was presented with the coveted honor.

Liz served on the Board of Directors for the Shade Tree Federation for many years and was a member of the Federation for many years before joining the Board. Throughout that time, she has been a constant advocate for member benefits, and a driving force for improvement and advancement.

Liz was President of the NJ Shade Tree Federation in 2020 and 2021, and in this challenging time she got us through our first ever online conference and created the framework for the online CEU options we continue to offer. Liz was also a primary contributor to the STF publication "Forms for NJ Trees," brought us the "Meet the Board" videos, advocated for online access to digital copies of the Shade Tree Federation publications (which are now available from our website) and helped to develop the new "NJSTF Tree Talk" online Zoom series.

Liz has done all this in addition to her constant support on the Education Committee, helping to develop the new William J. Porter Community Tree Project Award, and the work she does on her own local Shade Tree Commission in River Edge. Her enthusiasm for the work of Shade Tree Commissions is boundless and contagious. Liz is always there to help, and we owe her our thanks.