(From left) OCC Chairman Rick Jeans, Water Quality Director Dan Butler and Executive Director Mike Thralls.

Service Award: Dan Butler, 25 Years

Dan grew up in the upper Midwest and graduated from Ohio State University with a B.S. in Botany. He moved to Oklahoma for graduate school and received his M.S. in Botany, specializing in algology (the study of algae). His early work experience involved studying algae and primary productivity of lakes and the Illinois River for the Oklahoma City-County Health Department under contract to The Oklahoma Water Resources Board and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He came to the Conservation Commission in 1987 to develop a monitoring program and until recently focused mainly on monitoring issues. He received the Fellows award for Excellence in Monitoring from the National Water Quality Monitoring Council in 2004. Dan is currently the director of the Water Quality Division of the Conservation Commission.