It may not often occur that the first order of business after receiving the Order of the Long Leaf Pine is to present the honor to someone else.

That is exactly what happened to retired Division of Marine Fisheries employee Fentress “Red” Munden.

Munden received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine at his retirement ceremony Jan. 28, then turned and immediately presented the same award to retired division employee Sara Winslow of Hertford.

“I was very, very honored to receive the award, especially when I realized some of the other previous Division of Marine Fisheries employees who have received it in the past,” Munden said. “It was also quite exciting to recognize Sara.”

Winslow attended the retirement party to pay tribute to Munden and was unaware that she, too, would receive an award.

“Needless to say I was extremely surprised with the Order of Long Leaf Pine award....it is a great honor,” Winslow said.

Munden, of Morehead City, retired Jan. 31 after 43½ years of state service. Winslow, currently of Merry Hill, retired as the division’s Northern District manager Jan. 31, 2011, with 32 years of state service.

Munden, who grew up in Weeksville in Pasquotank County, began his career in state government in 1968 as a biology teacher at the College of The Albemarle.

A year later, he took a job as a shellfish biologist the N.C. Division of Commercial and Sports Fisheries. The agency changed its name to the Division of Marine Fisheries in 1972.

Munden rose through the ranks, serving as chief of the Development Section (what is now Resource Enhancement) in 1986. He kept that title for about a year-and-a-half before he became the division’s deputy director in November 1987.

When the position of deputy director was abolished in a division reorganization in 1994, Munden became chief of the Fisheries Management 
Section.

In 1997, Munden was temporarily assigned to the National Marine Fisheries Service as a fishery management specialist. He came back to the division later that year where his work shifted focus to regional fishery management councils and Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission issues.

He served as the division director’s proxy on the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council for the last 14 years. He also represented the division on numerous federal take reduction teams for bottlenose dolphin, Atlantic large whales, harbor porpoise and pelagic long lines.

In 2011, Munden took on additional duties as the head of the division’s newly-formed Protected Resources Section, which played a vital role in developing and implementing measures to protect sea turtles while maintaining commercial fisheries in North Carolina.

Munden holds a bachelor’s degree in agriculture from N.C. State University and a master of arts in education with a major in biology from East Carolina University.

He is also a retired U.S. Coast Guard Reserve captain with 25 years of service.

Sara Winslow

Winslow, who grew up in Hertford, began her career with the Division of Marine Fisheries in 1979 as a fisheries technician. She rose through the ranks to become biologist supervisor for the division’s Northern District in 1988. In this job she was responsible for the biology staff and projects conducted out of the Elizabeth City, Manteo, and Columbia offices. In 2000, she was promoted to Northern District 
Manager.

During her career, Winslow led river herring, shad, and striped bass research projects and served as staff lead in the development of fishery management plans for these species.

She also reviewed and commented on habitat alteration project permits and she served as the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission representative for the Cape Hatteras National Seashore Off-Road Vehicle Negotiated Rulemaking and Management Plan. Winslow served as the North Carolina representative on the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission for Shad and River Herring Technical Committee, Striped Bass Technical Committee and Striped Bass Tagging Committee. She also participated or served as chief scientist on the state/federal Cooperative Ocean Winter Tagging Cruise for 21 years.

Winslow holds a bachelor’s of science degree in marine biology from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

She is the daughter of Eldon Winslow of Hertford and the late Ruth E. Winslow.