The VMSMA's 40th Annual Maple Awards

Honoring Our Members, Recognizing Best Practices

The start of the sugaring season is a great time time for our members to nominate a Vermont sugar maker for one of our Annual Maple Awards! VMSMA honors individuals, families and businesses from our maple community in three categories each year - just in time to be recognized at our summertime Annual Meeting. Let us know who the Board should consider for this year's awards!

We've provided information on each Award below with guidelines for voting in our nomination form. Please nominate folks for one, two or three different awards and tell us why they're a perfect fit for that Award. Recipients must be VMSMA members (but if you're not sure, we can look into that once we review nominations).

The Outstanding Sugar Maker 

This award is presented annually to a Vermont sugar maker and is nominated by the Vermont Sugar Makers Association Board of Directors plus any standing committee chairs not on the Board. A candidate (may be a recipient only once) can be an individual, a family or a business.  The nomination should include the candidate's name and a short description why they feel that person, family or business deserves the award.  Past recipients list.

The Vermont Maple Person of the Year

The Maple Person of the Year may be awarded in the event the Board feels someone has stepped up and deserves the recognition.  The Board shall vote for the award at the last Board Meeting prior to the years’ annual meeting. Past recipients list.

Sumner Williams Lifetime Achievement Award

The award (previously called the Presidents Award) was renamed in January 2000 in memory of Sumner Williams, then Assistant Director of the University of Vermont Proctor Maple Research Center. Sumner was a sugar maker, researcher and educator and a friend to anyone involved in the maple industry. At the time of his death, Sumner was serving as President of the Vermont Maple Industry Council.  The Sumner Hill Williams Memorial Cup is presented each year at the Annual Meeting by the Vermont Maple Sugar Makers Association to honor an individual for outstanding service and dedication to the Vermont maple industry. Past recipients list.