NEWP Impact Award
The Paddle Impact Award recognizes individuals whose outstanding efforts have strengthened NEWP, Inc.’s programs and activities through consistent hard work and leadership. Their efforts have served to make NEWP’s programs and activities possible, and successful in fulfilling NEWP’s mission to encourage and advance paddle sports education and safety.
Recipients of the Paddle Impact Award must be past or present members of NEWP.
To nominate an individual for this award, please complete the online nomination form and submit it to the Awards Committee for consideration.
Past NEWP Impact Award Recipients
Scott Thomson, 2025
Since participating in the 2011 NEWP Kayak Essentials class at the Neenah-Menasha YMCA, Scott has immersed himself in NEWP’s activities and administration. He promptly became and has remained a key member of the public paddles committee that since then has organized and led more than 150 public paddle events. He has also consistently assisted with our Fox West and Appleton YMCA classes since then, rarely missing a class. In addition, he has served for many years on the NEWP board as a member, treasurer and now secretary, and has been essential in our website development and administration since launching our WordPress site several years ago. Scott has been a regular participant in NEWP’s club trips and gatherings, often sharing trip coordinator duties and handling the financial elements of those trips. He has also coordinated our weekly Lake Michigan paddles for the past few years. Scott’s visible and behind-the-scenes contributions have been absolutely critical to the success of NEWP’s mission for nearly 15 years.
Scott has also taken on open pool coordinator responsibilities and has become a competent instructor both in our pool classes and supporting people on our club trips and open water paddles.
David Horst, 2024
Anybody who has participated in NEWP’s Public Paddle events over the past 20 years have certainly paddled with David, have David to thank for the trip and shuttle route maps that have helped everybody find their to our paddle launch and land locations for the last 15 years.
David enjoyed two careers since graduating from UW-Green Bay in 1979. He started off with over 20 years of experience as a newspaper reporter and editor, followed up with more than 20 years supporting regional environmental and sustainability programs as an Environmental Grants Coordinator with the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region. It is only natural that David’s passion for nature and his communications expertise has benefited NEWP over all these years.
In presenting the award, Jeff Mazanec said, “I first met David about 20 years ago, at one of our Special Places Program paddles. He quickly proved to me that the pen is indeed mightier than the paddle. We had started our 19-year run of Park to Park Paddles a year or two earlier and were pleased to have a couple dozen participants. David submitted a press release to the Appleton Post-Crescent and almost overnight our participation grew to 140, and more than double that in subsequent years.”
Ever since those early days, David supported NEWP’s events with news releases and broadcast media coverage. He also arranged special events to enrich many of the paddle events. Some long-time paddlers may remember visiting with a John Muir actor, participating in a Native American drum circle in Montello, learning about aquatic invasive species and enjoying at least two visits to Aldo Leopold’s shack on the Wisconsin River, all as part of paddle trip experience.
When David isn’t paddling, he and his wife Jean are likely caring for their herd of llamas and alpacas or enjoying visits from Sandhill Cranes in their backyard.
Please congratulate David Horst, the 2024 NEWP Impact Award recipient.
Jeff Mazanec, 2022
- Tireless volunteer, event organizer and community leader
- President of NEWP for eleven of the past 13 years
- Has trained hundreds of kayakers through NEWP classes and the Door County Sea Kayak Symposium
- Lead organizer of NEWP’s public paddles and many club trips
- ACA Coastal Kayak Level 3 Instructor