SMLA President John Rupnik presents the Melvin Johnson Award to Dr. Bob Pohlad.
10/22/2021
During their monthly meeting on Tuesday, October 19, the Smith Mountain Lake Association (SMLA) bestowed the 2021 Melvin S. Johnston Citizen Volunteer Award upon Ferrum College Professor Emeritus Bob Pohlad.
The annual award, named for philanthropist and SMLA founder Melvin Johnston, is given to those who have had a great impact on the Smith Mountain Lake area during the year, or over an extended period of time. SMLA board member Lori Smith, who also served as SMLA president from 2017-19, was Pohlad’s counterpart in receiving the award.
Pohlad has served as senior scientist for the Water Quality Program (WQP) on Smith Mountain Lake, which was founded 35 years ago by Pohlad’s late wife, Dr. Carolyn Thomas, and Dr. Dave Johnson. Both Thomas and Johnson taught at Ferrum College with Pohlad.
“I am very honored to be given this award by the SMLA, and to be a part of the Smith Mountain Lake Water Quality Program and the Master Naturalist Program,” said Pohlad. “These programs help people engage in citizen science that enhances everyone’s knowledge of our valuable local resources to benefit us all.”
In his role as senior scientist, Pohlad coordinated the recent development and implementation of SMLA’s new algae reporting tool, which has since been integrated into the Virginia Department of Health reporting system.
Pohlad also helps to train volunteers of the Blue Ridge Foothills and Lakes chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalists. These volunteers take on active projects at Smith Mountain Lake, such as monitoring waters and streams, invasive species control, and buffer landscaping. Pohlad designed curriculum for training and taught classes both in person and over Zoom during the COVID-19 public health crisis.
“The awards committee and the SMLA Board felt strongly that Dr. Pohlad’s long record of service to the WQP was due appropriate recognition, as was his service in preparing so many citizen scientists over the years,” said SMLA board member Geoffrey Orth, who also serves as the coordinator for Save our Streams. “He is truly, as the citation of the award indicates, the institutional memory of the WQP and a go-to person for some of our knottiest problems. It is hard to imagine how the WQP and its volunteer base would have reached its current level of expertise without him.”
Learn more in these articles by The Franklin News-Post and The Laker Weekly.
Learn more about Ferrum College’s role in the Water Quality Program.
