The John “Slim” Funk Award of Excellence

The John “Slim” Funk Award of Excellence from the Missouri Chapter of AFS is the top award – Highest achievement and recognition that the Missouri Chapter  AFS presents annually.  This award was named to honor John “Slim” Funk; the founder of the Missouri Chapter. The list of previous recipients reads like a list of “Who’s-Who” in Fisheries in Missouri.  Names like Pflieger, Redmond, Dillard, Fajien, Russell, Turner, Vitello and Eder among others are past recipients. Receiving this award means that your professional peers recognize, appreciate, and respect your long-term contributions to the aquatic resources of Missouri.

The recipient received a Bachelor of Science in Fisheries and Wildlife Management from the University of North Dakota and a Master of Science in Fisheries Biology from the University of Missouri. Early in his career, the recipient worked South Dakota Game, Fish, and Parks where he worked on a variety of projects related to the Missouri River reservoir system in South Dakota.    In 1986 South Dakota’s loss was Missouri’s gain when he decided to return to Missouri to work for MDC as a Fisheries Research Biologist in Columbia, where he continues to work today.

The award winner has been a member of the American Fisheries Society since 1978.  He has served as AFS North Central Division’s representative on the Society’s Fisheries Management Section, and is currently a member of the AFS-NCD Ictalurid Technical Committee.  He has also served the Society as an Associate Editor for the North American Journal of Fisheries Management for five years.  A professional in every sense of the word he is respected by fisheries managers for his applied research that has real world applications and is also held in high regard by aquatic ecologists for his well designed studies that shed insight into trophic dynamics in aquatic ecosystems. 

For his dedication to Missouri’s aquatic resources, his desire to relay this understanding to fellow professionals and the public, and his commitment to the American Fisheries Society , please help me congratulate  Paul Michaletz  as he receives the John “Slim” Funk Award of Excellence from the Missouri Chapter of the American Fisheries Society.