10/30/2026
Congrats to these dedicated NPSOT members, our 2026 Benny J. Simpson Fellow Honorees! They will be recognized at our Fall Symposium next week:
The Benny J. Simpson Fellows honor is presented to individuals whose work enriches the Society at the state or chapter level. They are chosen by the membership from a list of members with a minimum of ten years of continuous commendable service. This year’s Fellows are Ricky Linex (Cross Timbers Chapter), Pam Peck (San Antonio Chapter), and Jean Wilson (New Braunfels Chapter).
Ricky Linex embodies a true example of stewardship and dedicated service to the Native Plant Society of Texas. He has served as president of both the Cross Timbers Chapter and of the Society (2024-2025), and currently serves the Society as Immediate Past President. Linex continues to contribute his 38 years of knowledge and experience as a former Natural Resources Conservation Service wildlife biologist by frequently speaking, teaching, and advising landowners. He authored the “Range Plants of North Central Texas, and is a renowned expert in North Central Texas land management, native plant identification, and ecological stewardship.
Pam Peck has been a top volunteer of the San Antonio Chapter, serving as the Volunteer Coordinator for eight years and twice as Vice President. As volunteer coordinator, she has recruited and scheduled volunteers for countless projects and plant sales, as well as led or participated in scores of tabling activities. Pam has served on various chapter committees, including the initial chapter grant committee (2015-2020), plant sale planning committee (2018-2020) and an ad hoc committee that created a PowerPoint presentation for the public encouraging native plant usage and highlighting selections for the San Antonio region. She established the San Antonio Chapter’s NICE program in 2024 and has served as the local committee chair. Over the past four years Pam has made numerous presentations on native plants to various local groups, and she regularly assists as a walk leader for NLCP. Ever pragmatic, she developed a form to document information on chapter events, thereby streamlining end-of-year reporting to the state.
Jean Wilson has served as the New Braunfels Chapter Treasurer for four years and implemented multiple procedures to make management of chapter finances more efficient. She also taught the landscape design portion of the chapter’s “Native Landscaping 101” class each Spring and Fall for over three years. As chair of the chapter’s Native Plants in Schools committee, Wilson coordinated a native plant garden at the local youth center, participated in the development of a pocket prairie at an elementary school, and organized the 2025 first Texas Native Plant Art Exhibition with 136 4th graders from two schools. All of the students’ artwork was displayed at public libraries and a downtown art gallery with winners presenting their work during Texas Native Plant Week proclamations at both New Braunfels City Council and Comal County Commissioners Court, with plans to expand to more students in the 2026-27 school year. Through the State NPSOT Sign Committee, she participated in the first metal garden signs offered, and designed the initial Member sign. Wilson assisted with the 2023 NPSOT Fall Symposium, initiating the design and production of the bilingual swag bags used for the 2023 & 2024 Fall Symposiums. Her initial contact with HEB on these bags helped generate a $6,000 symposium sponsorship by HEB for 2023 that has continued each year. She served as the chair for the 2024 NPSOT Fall Symposium held in New Braunfels and coordinated the successful efforts of the four host chapters.
