One of our own receives honor from Smith Mountain Lake Association

Dr. Don Kelso has been an active and respected member of the Blue Ridge Foothills and Lakes chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalists since the chapter’s founding in 2008.  Amongst many contributions, Don has been a leader in the Save Our Streams (SOS) project.  Don was awarded the Melvin S. Johnston award at the annual SMLA Town Hall meeting by SMLA President, Mr. Pete Lewis.  The following are Pete’s words about Don:

“At SMLA's Annual Town Hall Meeting, this year on March 29th, I had the distinct

pleasure of presenting Don Kelso with our prestigious Melvin S. Johnston

Award. He has been a tireless advocate of SML water quality for many

years. He became involved with Save Our Streams in 2008 and since 2009

has been the main SOS trainer. His never-ending enthusiasm, high energy,

and patience in addressing and teaching about water quality issues are echoed

by those he works with.

Don also developed the protocol that is now used to summarize yearly SOS

data from the VA SOS database. This enables us to look at water quality

trends in the streams we monitor.

He is an active member of the SMLA Lake Council, providing thoughtful and

valuable input on key watershed issues addressed by SMLA.”

Don has been very active in the Blue Ridge, Foothills and Lakes Chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalists.  He not only provides training to new budding Master Naturalists, he leads field trips as well as leading projects such as the Gills Creek mapping project in the Booker T. Washington National Monument.  He inspires other Master Naturalists to excel. 

Dr. Don is a truly remarkable individual who gives of himself continually – he is very deserving of the Melvin Johnston award.

                    Don Kelso received the Melvin S, Johnson Award from SMLA President, Pete Lewis