AAEA is excited to announce the creation of the first annual Ron Bell Advanced Energy Leadership Award. Named after the first chairman of the Arkansas Advanced Energy Foundation, the award will recognize outstanding and consistent contributions to Arkansas’s advanced energy industry by an individual business leader, research/education leader, or public servant in Arkansas. We are now soliciting nominations for the first recipient of this award and all nominations must be submitted by AAEA members and are due by Friday, August 29th. The winner(s) will be announced at this year’s emPOWERing Arkansas: AAEA Annual Meeting & Policy Conference on Friday, October 17th.
THE RON BELL ADVANCED ENERGY LEADERSHIP AWARD
Description: In addition to being the Arkansas Advanced Energy Foundation’s founding Chairman, Ron Bell is a former Army officer, a cattleman and tree farmer, and a leader of several eco-initiatives in Arkansas for more than two decades. Bell has served as a county conservation board member since 2000, as Chairman of the Ozark Foothills Resource, Conservation & Development from 2004-2006, and as President of the Arkansas Association of Resource Conservation and Development Councils from 2008-2010. As RC&D President, he worked with councils to develop a variety of energy efficiency and renewable energy projects which councils have been implementing across the state since 2010. In addition to his service to the conservation community, Ron served as President of Arkansas’s Ozark Woodland Owners Association from 2000-2003. Since 2004, he has also served as the South Central Region Vice President of the national Woodland Owners Association and as NOWA’s national director at large for bioenergy and other renewable programs and legislation as they relate to forestlands. Through all of his work, fueled by personal passion and commitment, Bell’s impact on Arkansas’s advanced energy will be felt for years to come.
The Ron Bell Advanced Energy Leadership Award will be given annually to a deserving individual (or individuals) whose work is having a significant, sustainable impact on Arkansas’s advanced energy industry.
List of Qualifications for Nominees:
- AAEA Member Business leader, AAEA Member research/education leader, public servant who is committed to the positive development of the advanced energy industry in Arkansas
- Be headquartered or have a strong business presence in Arkansas
- If nominating a business leader, must be an executive of the company
- Demonstrates excellence in professional role
- Demonstrates commitment to advanced energy development through business, advocacy, community outreach, product/service innovation
- Self-nominations are not allowed
- Two or more persons may be co-nominated to share the award
- Must not have received the award before
Nomination Process:
- Any Business or Institutional Level AAEA Member may make a nomination
- Nominations are to be submitted by the deadline to AAEA at info@arkansasadvancedenergy.com with “Award Nomination” in the subject line
- Late and/or incomplete nominations will not be accepted
- Nominations made in a given year will not be carried over to the next year automatically