Fremont County Weed Coordinator J.R. Phillips shown with the 2011 "Weed Manager of the Year" Award from the Colorado Weed Management Association. Phillips is set to retire this spring.
Fremont County Noxious Weed Coordinator J.R. Phillips was honored in December as the Colorado Weed Manager of the Year by the Colorado Weed Management Association (CWMA). CWMA is made of up 200 members from around the State of Colorado. The award was presented at the CWMA’s Annual Conference on December 7th & 8th at the Cheyenne Mountain Resort in Colorado Springs.
Phillips has served as Fremont County’s Noxious Weed Coordinator for the past seven years and previous to that he served on the Fremont County Noxious Weed Board. Under Phillips’ guidance Fremont County has taken a lead in the control of noxious weeds through innovative control methods and serving as a model in setting up cooperative programs with private property owners and other government agencies.
The Fremont County Board of Commissioners took note of Phillips’ award at their December 13th board meeting. Commission Chairman Ed Norden added that Phillips has announced his intentions to retire in the spring of 2012. Jana Gregg, who works with Phillips in the Fremont County Weed Control Office, serves on the CWMA Board of Directors. At the same meeting Gregg presented Commissioner Norden with the CWMA Commissioner of the Year Award. Norden was recently named to fill a county commissioner’s seat on the Colorado Department of Agriculture’s Noxious Weed Advisory Committee. Norden said he volunteered for the appointment because of the leadership being taken by Fremont County in noxious weed control.
Commission Chairman Ed Norden accepting the 2011 CWMA "Commissioner of the Year" Award