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Texas A&M Forest Service honors personnel and service at 2025 annual meeting
BRYAN —Texas A&M Forest Service held the agency’s annual personnel meeting yesterday in Bryan, Texas. Spanning statewide, agency employees gathered to recognize the past year’s agency accomplishments and employee achievements.
During the meeting, agency personnel had opportunities to participate in a fun run, team building exercises and learn about health benefits.
“Today’s meeting theme “Leading Healthy Lives” extends beyond individual wellness,” said Texas A&M Forest Service Director Al Davis. “It provides a powerful, holistic framework for strengthening teams and developing resilient leadership within our agency.”
Davis spoke on many agency highlights from this year including increased legislative funding for the purchase, operation and maintenance of wildfire suppression aircraft and the historic $236 million for volunteer fire departments.
“The agency also mobilized personnel to support search, rescue and recovery operations through saw crews, equipment operators, drone operations, overhead, tree risk assessments and stress management for first responders during the Kerrville flooding,” said Davis. “Your speed, professionalism and courage under immense pressure were vital in protecting lives and property.”
Davis commended the work of the Critical Incident Stress Management team, who were the last ones to leave the grounds, making sure to consult with each and every agency and Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System responder before they demobilized from the scene.
During the meeting, agency leadership recognized 60 employees for five years or more of service including: Chris Brown, Program Leader in College Station for 30 years of service; John Gill, Resource Specialist III in Jasper for 30 years of service; Courtney Blevins, Staff Forester V in Fort Worth for 40 years of service; Sarah Brooks, Business Associate III in La Grange for 40 years of service; and Daniel Duncum Staff Forester V in Longview for 45 years of service.
Employees who consistently deliver excellent service aboveand- beyond regular job duties were presented with Director’s Awards.
Drew Liddell, Fire Coordinator I in Fredericksburg, received the Director’s Award for Support Staff Field. Liddell shows exceptional accomplishments in advancing the agency’s mission through his various projects. Most recently, his response to the Kerrville flood showcased his unwavering dedication, professionalism and compassion as he worked tirelessly alongside local cooperators, community members and affected families during the incident and ongoing recovery.
Sherri Coffman, Business Associate III in San Angelo, received the Director’s Award for Support Staff Office. Coffman demonstrates the highest standard of professionalism, dedication and service in her role to support the agency and Region 7. Above her assigned duties, she volunteers at public outreach events as an ambassador for the agency and has gone above and beyond as dedicated incident response support.
Twanisha Bennett, Project Coordinator III in Lufkin, received the Director’s Award for Support Staff Professional. As a 24-year tenured employee, Bennett has a passion for the Capacity Building programs she builds with her team. Bennett also works in finance for incident response. She went above and beyond to assist when the full-time Incident Business Advisor resigned, where she took on a leadership role to request additional finance personnel, delegate tasks and ensure incident finance was able to function.
Carlos Garcia-Patlan, Woodland Ecologist I in Edinburg, received the D.A. “Andy” Anderson Information and Education Award. Garcia-Patlan serves as a critical link between the agency’s mission and the people and urban forest resources in the South Texas Rio Grande Valley. Fluent in English and Spanish, Carlos uses his background as an educator to train and serve the communities in his region.
Camille Wiseman, Woodland Ecologist III in Austin, received the Bruce Miles Natural Resource Professional Award. Wiseman has naturally taken the role of lead role for the natural resource professionals in Region 8 since the agency internally restructured in 2024. She represents the agency at events, to landowners and even out of state when responding with incident management teams.
Bryan Young, Resource Specialist IV in Lufkin, received the Charles Krenek Award for Resource Specialist. Young has served the agency for 27 years and has extensive knowledge in forestry, fire suppression, urban forestry and tree health. He leads landowner visits and outreach programs, has led agency auction preparation for over 100 agency vehicles and provides mentorship to new employees.
Jason Ellis, District Forester IV in Jacksonville, received the Byron “Jeff” Durant Prescribed Fire Excellence Award. In the 2025 prescribed fire season, Ellis planned and burned over 800 acres on the I.D. Fairchild State Forest. Ellis is also a state-wide advocate for prescribed fire and resources for prescribed burn managers, bringing his expertise to presentations for the Texas Department of Agriculture burn school, landowner associations and various civic groups.
The Director’s Award for Team Effort – Best Interdivisional Project was awarded to the working group for the agency’s website re-design project. This team consists of Justin Dudo, Systems Administrator III in College Station; Simon Frazier, Communications Specialist II in College Station; Leighton Gibson, Marketing and Communications Manager in College Station; Jordan Herrin, Regional Operations Chief in Lufkin; Michael Petersen, Systems Administrator I in College Station; and Javier Vara Sanz, Geospatial Analyst IV in College Station.
This group led the multi-year research and coordination process and redesign of the agency website, which launched in May of 2025. The new website has an updated design and functionality to assist agency audiences in finding information and resources efficiently.
Texas A&M Forest Service is proud to recognize agency accomplishments and employee achievements while looking forward to the future and the coming year of service.
