2017 saw another record number of applicants promoted to Professional Member status. The Institute awarded the prestigious chartered status to 43 applicants this year. Natural Resource Wales (NRW) demonstrated an exceptional professional standard this year as six members’ of their team have been awarded charter status, with four outstanding applicants who were awarded Awards for Excellence. Neil Stoddart MICFor, Operational Resource Manager for NRW, said: “We really value and respect the professionalism of our staff and this achievement is recognition of their hard work and willingness to improve. “Last year we had a record number of entries for professional membership and were the fourth largest contributor to professional membership with the ICF in the UK. “We encourage this kind of professional improvement so this is a great result for the organisation but also for professional forestry as a whole in Wales.”