Department of Agriculture Employee Receives National Plant Board Award

Bob Trumbule recognized for achievements in Regulatory Plant Protection

ANNAPOLIS, MD –The Maryland Department of Agriculture employee Bob Trumbule received the National Plant Board’s Carl E. Carlson Distinguished Achievement Award in Regulatory Plant Protection last month at the National Plant Board’s 2018 Annual Meeting in Cleveland.

“Our department and the agriculture community are fortunate to have such dedicated and knowledgeable personnel like Bob Trumbule,” said Secretary Joe Bartenfelder. “Every day our Plant Protection and Weed Management program works tirelessly to ensure our state’s billion dollar nursery industry remains strong, healthy and safe. Congratulations to Bob for receiving this highly prestigious award. We thank you for everything you do for Maryland agriculture.”

Trumbule has more than 30 years of experience in the department’s Plant Protection and Weed Management program. He has continually worked to protect Maryland agriculture by ensuring nursery stock and nursery facilities are disease and pest free.

The Carl E. Carlson award is given annually to individuals who have shown exemplary work in the field of regulatory plant protection through service and contributions made at the field level. The award also recognizes the recipients’ commitment to upholding the principles of plant protection and quarantine along with the ideals of the National Plant Board in serving citizens and industries.

“I am honored and humbled to receive this national recognition,” said Trumbule. “Thank you to all of my colleagues and peers in the Eastern Chapter of the Horticultural Inspection Society for nominating me for this distinguished award. It means the world to me, and I could not have accomplished this much without the support of my family, friends, mentors, coworkers and professional colleagues.”

Trumbule graduated from the University of Maryland with a bachelor’s in Conservation and Resource Development with an emphasis in Botany and Plant Sciences in 1982, and with a master’s in Entomology in 1989. In addition to his official job duties, Trumbule is also a supervisor for the department’s Nursery Inspection Program, the Maryland Ginseng Management Program, and the Weed Biological Control Program.

Trumbule is an active member of the following organizations:

• Eastern Chapter of the Horticultural Inspection Society, former President (1998) and Vice President (1997)
• Maryland Invasive Species Council, founding member
• Entomological Society of America
• Maryland Entomological Society
• Weed Science Society of America

For more information about the department’s Plant Protection and Weed Management program, visit the program’s website. Further details about the National Plant Board’s Carl E. Carlson award are available at nationalplantboard.org/awards/.

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