Forest Society Honors George Beaton as the 2025 Trish Churchill Volunteer of the Year

Each year, the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests announces the organization’s Trish Churchill Volunteer of the Year Award at its Annual Meeting held in September. This annual award honors those exemplary volunteers who have made an extraordinary commitment of their time, resources, and energy to help the Forest Society achieve its mission. 

At this year’s 124th Annual Meeting, the Forest Society was honored to present the Trish Churchill Volunteer of the Year Award to George Beaton of Bradford. Beaton has volunteered with the Forest Society for the past 11 years as a Land Steward for the Black Mountain Forest in Sutton.

“This year’s Volunteer of the Year, George Beaton, can only be described as someone who is always willing to jump in to help, bringing his humorous perspective on life along with him,” stated Carrie Deegan, vice president for recreation management and public engagement for the Forest Society. “Not only is he one of our best land stewards, but his helping hands also contribute to our workdays, education and outdoor classroom outreach, sign making workshops, and more. George finds absolutely any way he can to be helpful to the Forest Society and our mission and for that we are thankful.”

On workdays you can find Beaton constructing bridges and stone stairs on trails, including participating in the Forest Society’s week-long Monadnock Trails Week. He has also volunteered for the Forest Society’s Mount Kearsarge Outdoor Classroom Program working with high-risk teens to complete trail projects on the Lincoln Trail up Mt. Kearsarge. ”It takes a special kind of volunteer to connect with the students and George never hesitates to interact with the students, guide, and teach them trail skills.”

Beaton attends the annual sign making workshop as well, willing to play any role he can from planning to sanding, routing or staining. Taking it one step further, he often mills the pine boards the Forest Society uses for sign making. He has also created and donated items that he made in his woodshop, such as cutting boards and a beautiful side table on top of a wrought iron sewing table he salvaged on a workday at the Wenny-Baker Forest. 

The Forest Society Volunteer of the Year Award is named after Trish Churchill, a long-time volunteer coordinator for the Forest Society who passed away in 2020. Churchill embodied the spirit of volunteerism with her enthusiasm and compassion for others.