Ed Albrecht awarded Distinguished Service Award at TU Annual Meeting

The long-anticipated recognition of Ed Albrecht for his years of state-wide Trout in the Classroom efforts has happened.  Ed was awarded TU’s Distinguished Service Award at the 2014 TU Annual Meeting in Santa Fe in early September.

The citation of Ed’s work, which was published in the Awards Booklet which details all of the awardees for special TU recognition this year, reads as follows:

“When Ed Albrecht retired from American Airlines in 2007, he likes to say that his "second career" began. That year, Ed took over a 45-gallon tank and $200 worth of equipment in his hometown of Cheshire, CT, and began running the Salmon in the Classroom program for his local Hammonasset Chapter. One tank became four, salmon transitioned to trout and Trout in the Classroom started to grow.

“At the same time, Ed began working with volunteers from two other chapters in Connecticut and he quickly donned the cap of TIC Coordinator for the Connecticut Council. Seven years later, and under Ed's guidance, expertise, mentoring and support, TIC in Connecticut now includes all eight chapters, over 114 trout tanks and more than 9,000 students engaged in the program. Beyond the classroom, Ed has helped grow the TIC program to include many field trips and streamside educational programs as well as youth fishing days and more.

“He has built partnerships with organizations and community events across the state where TIC has become the main attraction for thousands of residents at fairs, festivals and environmental events. Ed forged deep relationships with the state's Department of Environmental Protection, guaranteeing that TIC has perpetual support from the fisheries division. He also helped create a website section on ConneCTkids, the official State of Connecticut Site for Children where an archive of TIC information serves as a great resource for coordinators, mentors, teachers, students, parents and more.”