2024 Ken Ottman Volunteer Award: JoAnna Nakeff and Beau Brodbeck

Every year since 2007, Tree Research and Education Endowment Fund (TREE Fund) awards the Ken Ottman Volunteer Award to an individual whose contributions to TREE Fund are exemplary. Named for its first recipient whose dedication to TREE Fund’s programs set a standard for volunteering, it is the highest and only award TREE Fund gives out annually.

The 2024 Ken Ottman Volunteer award was presented to two individuals, JoAnna Nakeff and Dr. Arnold “Beau” Brodbeck, PhD.

Nakeff was presented with her award during the 2025 Tour des Trees, which she has volunteered at since 2007. A staple and irreplaceable part of the annual ride, Nakeff – who everyone knows as “Jo” – is always one of the first people to welcome the riders, both new and veteran, and plays an integral part during the week helping with aid stations, tracking the riders, and keeping everyone safe, calm, and in high spirits. She is always ready to provide emotional support, be that with a big hug or a piece of Canadian candy.

In addition to being a TREE Fund Trustee for nine years – including time as Board Chair – Brodbeck also served as the Liaison Committee Chair and a member of the Research and Education Committee. Brodbeck is also instrumental in organizing TREE Fund’s free webinar series, which has grown to tens of thousands of viewers over the years since its inception ten years ago. The series has become a vital platform for connecting cutting-edge arboricultural research with practitioners and other audiences around the world. Brodbeck, who is the Assistant Director, Field Operations at the Alabama Cooperative Extension System and Affiliate Faculty, College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment at Auburn University, helped to get the webinar program off the ground by working with the Alabama Cooperative Extension, providing TREE Fund with the technology to register participants and broadcast the webinar series to arborists and supporters all around the world. He is also a regular Tour des Trees rider. Brodbeck was presented with his award during the 2025 International Society of Arboriculture Annual Conference in New Zealand.

“To have two individuals who have been so critical to the success of TREE Fund’s two largest outreach programs speaks volumes about what TREE Fund means to tree research and education,” said Dr. Paul Putman, TREE Fund President and CEO. “While not unprecedented, the Ken Ottman Volunteer Award is not typically given out to two individuals in the same year, but I, along with the committee comprised of previous recipients, am proud to be able to award this recognition to two of TREE Fund’s most deserving champions”