FFI Board Awards of Achievement
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FFI Award of Distinction for Leadership and Service
This award is the ultimate award presented by Fly Fishers International. Thus, the consideration of what represents significant achievement by an individual is extremely strict. Services and contribution to FFI must be prominent, extraordinary, and significantly above the criteria that would merit consideration for any other FFI award.
FFI McKenzie Cup
This award was named in honor of McKenzie Fly Fishers, a Club that remains active in Eugene, Oregon, that provided instrumental leadership in the original formation of what now is Fly Fishers International. The FFI McKenzie Cup is presented to a FFI Club that has made an outstanding contribution on behalf of the FFI.
FFI Fly Fisher of the Year
This award is presented to an individual who has demonstrated unusual devotion to Fly Fishers International and through outstanding contributions has benefited FFI at national or international levels.
FFI Fly Fishing Skills Education Award
This award is presented to recognize a single extraordinary contribution or an ongoing prominent effort that promotes comprehensive fly fishing education. Extraordinary contributions are those that are superior and conspicuous in relation to others and consistent philosophies of Fly Fishers International.
FFI Women's Community Development Award
This award is presented to an individual, group or organization who has demonstrated unusual devotion to increasing the diversity of Fly Fishers International’s fly fishing community by expanding the involvement of women. This award is to recognize leadership and service on a regional, national and/or international level.
FFI Buz Buszek Memorial Fly Tying Award
This award is named in honor of Wayne “Buz” Buszek who developed a retail business during the mid-1900s where he established a standard of excellence for fly tying materials and more importantly the many excellent fly patterns he developed that include the Western Coachman and Old Gray Mare that continue to inspire the highest skills in fly tying today. The award, likewise, is presented to individuals who have demonstrated highest skills in fly tying and made significant contributions to the preservation of the artform of fly tying.
FFI Dick Nelson Fly Tying Teaching Award
This award was named in honor of Dick Nelson, an excellent fly tier, who devoted his skill and understanding of fly tying to teach at a level that established a standard of excellence for teaching fly tying to others. This award is presented to an individual who demonstrates those standards and excels in teaching the artform of fly tying to tiers at all skill levels.
FFI Darwin Atkin Fly Tying Achievement Award
This award was named in honor of Darwin Atkin, who set the standard for preserving the artform of fly tying in many ways from his contagious inspiration of other fly tiers to do more, to the unique patterns he designed that included his “California Girl”. He was noted for his hand-tied sculpins but especially for the Fly Plate Construction Program he developed that earned Fly Fishers International substantial revenue. This award was created in his honor to recognize an FFI member whose long-term contribution to fly tying is widely recognized and respected. This award is for outstanding achievement, demonstrated commitment and significant advancement of the craft and artform of fly tying.
FFI International Ambassador Award
This award is presented to an individual who has made outstanding contributions to expand Fly Fishers International world-wide furthering the mission and vision of the organization. Contributions, including development organizationally, member engagement, program growth and delivery of benefits and opportunities (i.e. Conservation, Learning Center, Grants and Scholarships), should have been made over a period of years.
FFI Lee Wulff Award
This award honors Lee Wulff who is well known as a pioneer in fly fishing and conservation of fishes and their habitats, recognizes manufacturers or a retail business that demonstrates outstanding innovation in the fly fishing industry through their products and stewardship of natural resources.
FFI Roderick Haig-Brown Award
This award is named in honor of Roderick Haig-Brown, who was an avid fly fisher, pioneer conservationist and acclaimed author of many books on, rivers, fishes and fly fishing. This award is presented to a fly fishing author whose work embodies the philosophy and spirit of Roderick Haig-Brown, particularly a respect for the ethics and traditions of fly fishing and an understanding of rivers and their inhabitants.
FFI Silver King Award
This award is named after the highly prized saltwater trophy, the tarpon, is presented to an individual who has made extraordinary contributions to the sport of saltwater fly fishing and/or conservation of saltwater fisheries and habitats over an extended period of time.
FFI Conservation Award
This award is presented to an individual, group, or organization that has made extraordinary contributions to the conservation of our fishery resources.
FFI Leopold Conservation Award
This award is named in honor of Aldo Leopold, who was known as the “Father of Modern Wildlife Management”. He was a conservationist, forester, philosopher, educator, and writer, best known for his concept the “land ethic”, which calls for an ethical, caring relationship with nature. It is presented to an individual honoring them for a lifetime of fisheries conservation work.
FFI Council Leadership Award
This award is presented to a Fly Fishers International Council President who has demonstrated unusual devotion to FFI and whose outstanding contributions have benefited FFI.
FFI Lifetime Achievement in Fly Casting Education Award
This award is presented to individuals who have made significant, long-term contributions to fly casting education. Contributions may include teaching, innovation in fly casting techniques, writing, motivation and sharing their knowledge of teaching to advance the goals of the Fly Casting Education Program.
FFI Mel Krieger Fly Casting Instructor Award
This award, honoring Mel Krieger a well-known figure in the instruction of fly casting and author of the original Fly Fishers International Certified Casting Instructor Program, is presented in recognition of those who have made significant contributions to the FFI Casting Instructor Certification Program and the FFI Fly Casting Education Program.
FFI Board Committee Awards of Achievement
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Committee awards are presented by the Fly Fishers International Board Committees. Recipients of Committee Awards are recognized at meeting times and locations selected by the Committee.
FFI Conservation Committee
Dr. James Henshall Warmwater Fisheries Award
This award is presented to an individual who has made extraordinary contributions to warmwater fly fishing and conservation of warmwater fisheries in memory of Dr. James A. Henshall, 19th century author and early advocate for bass as a gamefish.
FFI Fly Casting Education Program Committee
FFI Floyd Franke Award for Contributions to Fly Casting Education Program
This award recognizes significant contributions to processes and organizational components of the Fly Casting Education Program, a program developed from the Casting Board of Governors (CBOG) and Casting Instructor Certification Program and adopted in 2024. Floyd Franke advanced the mission of the CICP on several levels through his contributions as a Governor and later as Chairperson of the CBOG. Floyd had vision, proposed practical solutions to real problems and implemented those solutions. He foresaw that high standards must be maintained and laid the foundation for the Code of Conduct and established an Ethics Committee. He helped establish the Two-Handed Casting Instructor Program, Governor Membership terms and opened governance committees and program activities to participation by all Master Certified Instructors. Floyd looked for people who “got things done” without consideration of name recognition or celebrity status. He played a major role in making the CICP a respected and valued program of FFI worldwide.
FFI Jay Gammel Award for Fly Casting Instruction
This award, named in honor of Jay Gammel, recognizes an individual(s) or group who have developed instructional materials that have advanced fly casting instruction. Bill and Jay Gammel (son and father, respectively) authored The Essentials of Fly Casting which was the first published work that analyzed fly casting from the instructor’s perspective. The 24-page pamphlet was published by Fly Fishers International in 1993 and changed forever the methods of teaching fly casting.
FFI Casting Instructor Certification Program Mentoring Award
This award is presented to a Fly Fishers International Certified Casting Instructor(s) for long and continuing support of the Casting Instructor Certification Program through mentoring. Mentoring involves assisting and preparing Certification Candidates toward FFI instructor certifications (CI, MCI, THCI, THMCI) through casting and teaching tuition sessions (individual or group) to further improve candidates’ casting knowledge and skills. Instruction may be virtual, in-person or both. Mentoring also includes sharing casting knowledge voluntarily with individuals, group, or clubs to improve members’ casting skills.
FFI Fly Casting Education Program Recognition Award
This award is presented to a certified instructor who has contributed significantly to the Fly Casting Education Program community through their unselfish devotion and passion to help individuals and groups learn to enjoy the sport of fly fishing. Contributions may include teaching involvement with the Fly Fishers International’s Learning Center in such areas like the Fly Casting Skills Development; teaching and working with Veteran groups, Women or youth groups, First Responder groups, and/or Special Needs groups; the development of unique teaching programs; or their involvement with FFI Councils, clubs or regional casting programs.
FFI Fly Casting Education Program Leadership Team Recognition Award
This award is presented in recognition of an individual’s vision, steadfastness, initiative, creativity, and ability to inspire those being led toward a goal. This may be through administration, committee involvement or program implementation. The award is decided by vote of Fly Casting Education Program Leadership Team members. Leadership Team members are not eligible for this award.
FFI Council Awards
FFI Council Awards of Excellence
This award is presented to those individuals in each Fly Fishers International Council who have made outstanding contributions to FFI at the local or regional level. Criteria for presentation are determined by each respective Council President and the award is presented in the name of FFI by each Council President. The individual must be nominated by their respective FFI Council Board of Directors.
Questions
Please direct questions you may have to the Awards Administrator at awards@flyfishersinternational.org.