Larry Morris Wins Jerry L. Johnson Award

Larry Morris, District Conservationist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Bay Minette, Alabama, was honored at the Alabama Association of Conservation Districts Annual Meeting as the recipient of the Jerry L. Johnson Award for excellence in public service through family, employment, profession, and community.

Morris was selected for his contributions to community through volunteer work and church activities, and for his leadership in soil and water conservation activities in Alabama. The award carries a stipend of $1,000 which is donated to a charity of the recipient’s choice in their honor.

Morris is actively involved in the First United Methodist Church of Bay Minette, the Gulf Coast Clean Water Partnership, Weeks Bay Citizen’s Advisory Committee, Baldwin County Cattlemen’s Association, and the Soil and Water Conservation Society.  He has also been actively involved with C.A.S.T. for kids, an organization that enables disabled and disadvantaged children to be paired with volunteers for a day of fishing.

Morris is a life-long conservationist and true steward of the land. He lives by the agency’s motto of "Helping People Help the Land." The landowners and farmers in Baldwin County have great respect for his knowledge and expertise. The fruits of his career are visible throughout the county in the form of conservation and wildlife and forestry practices which have been applied on the land.

Much like Jerry Johnson, for whom the award is named, Larry Morris is a man of integrity who makes a positive impact on those he comes in contact with. The Jerry L. Johnson Award was established in 2005 and is funded by the Bradley/Murphy Forestry and Natural Resources Extension Trust.

The selection committee is comprised of representatives from the Bradley/Murphy Trust, Alabama State Soil and Water Conservation Committee, Alabama Association of Conservation Districts, and the Alabama NRCS.

For more details, contact Matthew Collins, AL NRCS Communications Specialist (Phone: 334-887-4538) or Julie Yates, AL NRCS Director of Communications, Marketing and Outreach (Phone: 334-887-4581) Committee, and NRCS.