President's Award

This award recognizes those who have made outstanding contributions to the natural products industry.² The recipient, Rand Skolnick, is the president and CEO of Solgar Vitamin and Herb, a manufacturer of nutritional supplements since 1947, which was founded by Skolnik's grandfather.¹ "The Solgar_® brand, the Skolnick family's brand, has long been revered as an example of quality in the industry," wrote Daniel Fabricant, PhD, NPA's vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs. "Mr. Skolnick is dedicated to that legacy and to the independent retailers as the carrier of that legacy" (e-mail, December 26, 2007).

Burton Kallman Scientific Award

This award, which recognizes significant contributions to the natural products industry, will be received by Professor Harry H.S. Fong, PhD.² Dr. Fong is a founder and president of NatProPharm Services, Ltd., a consulting company that researches and develops natural products and pharmaceuticals.¹ According to Dr. Fabricant, some of Dr. Fong's most notable contributions to the industry include his work on the American Botanical Council's (ABC) Ginseng Evaluation Program, his peer review of many publications on natural products research, and his work on the reference Botanical Dietary Supplements: Quality, Safety, and Efficacy with co-authors Gail B. Mahady and Norman R. Farnsworth (CRC Press, 2001). He was also a coauthor of the World Health Organization (WHO) Monographs, another notable reference of 89 internationally peer-reviewed herbal monographs, which is now available in 3 volumes. Dr. Fabricant added that Dr. Fong, like the previous Kallman award recipients, displayed both a depth and breadth to his work and accomplishments in natural products research that is truly unique.

Rachel Carson Environmental Award

Robert Fox Jr. will receive this award, which recognizes those actively engaged with environmental preservation.² Fox is a partner at Cook+Fox Architects in New York City, a firm that specializes in the creation of aesthetically pleasing and environmentally friendly buildings.¹ Fox was described in an NPA press release as "one of the most highly respected leaders in the green building movement."¹

"Mr. Fox has effectively merged green building and corporate economics," wrote Dr. Fabricant. "He wants to do the right thing for the environment, the right thing for the balance sheets, and [he] uses that approach to set an example for the world to follow."

Industry Champion Award

Formerly the Crusader Award, this award recognizes those who have made contributions to the natural products industry beyond monetary gain.² This year's recipients are Gene Clark, Terry Lemerond, Neil Levin, and Judy Lindberg McFarland.

Gene Clark, CN, is the founder and owner of Gene's Health Food, Inc. in Owensboro, Kentucky. Clark is well known for his motto "your health is your wealth" and his weekly radio show "It's Your Health."²

Terry Lemerond has over 40 years of experience in the health food industry and is the founder and president of Europharm, Inc., a creator of nutritional products.³ Lemerond is the author of Seven Keys to Vibrant Health (Impakt Communications, 1995), and he was the founder and former owner of Enzymatic Therapy, a leading dietary supplement manufacturer.

Neil Levin is the nutrition education manager and a product formulator for NOW Foods of Bloomingdale, Illinois.² He's also the president of the nonprofit organization Nutrition for Optimal Health Association, Inc. He is known for his prompt and extensive responses to erroneous and misleading media articles about the science related to dietary supplements.

Judy Lindberg McFarland, author and nutritionist, has a family legacy in healthy foods: her parents founded Lindberg Nutrition Service in 1949, and now the McFarland family owns Lindberg Nutrition in Torrance, California, as well as the mail-order version of Lindberg Nutrition, Nutrition Express.^2,4 She is also the author of Aging Without Growing Old: Essential Information for People of All Ages who Seek a Lifetime of Good Health (Siloam Press, 2003).

Clinician Award

This award honors licensed healthcare practitioners who take holistic, non-invasive, and integrative approaches to their medical practices.² The recipients of this year's award include Aaron Katz, MD; Derrick Lonsdale, MD; and Jay Udani, MD.

Dr. Katz directs the Center for Holistic Urology in New York City. He developed the RT-PCR (Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction) test to detect prostate cancer cells in blood, which was the first time a molecular assay was used to connote the stages of urologic cancers.^2,5 He also wrote Dr. Katz's Guide to Prostate Health: From Conventional to Holistic Therapies (Freedom Press, 2005).

Dr. Lonsdale is a member of Preventive Medicine Group, where he guides patients to a healthier lifestyle by studying nutrition's effect on the biochemistry of the body.^2,6 He's the author of Why I Left Orthodox Medicine: Healing for the 21st Century (Hampton Roads Publishing, 1994).

Dr. Udani is the CEO and medical director of Medicus Research, a contract research organization that conducts clinical trials on dietary supplements. He is also the director of the Integrative Medicine Program at Northridge Hospital Medical Center in California, and he recently agreed to serve as an Advisory Board member of ABC.⁷

Socially Responsible Retailer Award

This award is bestowed to companies that are actively involved in volunteering, education, environment, and health.² This year's recognized companies include Good Foods Grocery, LifeSource Natural Foods, and Marlene's Market & Deli.

Good Foods Grocery in Richmond, Virginia, was founded in 1985 and is owned by Virginia Donnie Caffrey.^2,8 These grocery stores regularly donate to nonprofit organizations in their communities and offer seminars to educate the public on nutrition.

LifeSource Natural Foods, Salem, Oregon, owned by Alex Beamer and opened in 1994, prides itself on providing a "broad and abundant selection of organic and natural foods" to encourage healthy lifestyles for customers.^2,9

With two locations in Washington, one in Federal Way and one in Tacoman, Marlene's Market & Deli was opened in 1976 by Marlene Beadle.¹⁰ To educate the public, these stores offer free cooking classes with topics such as gluten-free cooking, and they provide services like complimentary health consultations from naturopathic physicians.¹¹

Conclusion

ABC extends its congratulations to these individuals and companies. (The recipient of the NPA lifetime achievement award will be announced at a later date.²)

The NPA, formerly the National Nutritional Foods Association (NNFA), is a national trade association whose mission is to "advocate for the rights of consumers to have access to products that will maintain and improve their health, and for the rights of retailers and suppliers to sell these products," according to its Web site.

More information about NPA and its awards is available at www.naturalproductsassoc.org. More information about the Natural MarketPlace 2008 convention and trade show is available at www.naturalproductsassoc.org/tradeshow.