Recipients of the Doctor of Pipes Award (1998-present)

= Introduction =
"The Doctor of Pipes program was launched in 1998 at the Chicagoland International Pipe & Tobacciana Show when the first two awards were presented to Frank Burla and Tom Dunn. Only two awards are conferred each year, one to a member of the pipe smoking hobby, and another to an individual working within the industry.
It takes a lot to be considered for this honorary degree. Candidates must have at least 20 years in the hobby and demonstrated commitment to the advancement and support of pipe smoking. Current Doctors propose candidates by writing summaries of their achievements and submitting them for consideration to all of the living Doctors, who vote to determine the next Doctors. It is among the most prestigious awards that our community offers; if pipes were as mainstream as Hollywood, a Doctor of Pipes award would be equivalent to an Oscar." Chuck Stanion, Smokingpipes.com Pipeline post 
== Doctor of Pipes Awards (1998-present) ==
1998
* Tom Dunn (deceased) — Founder and editor of The Pipe Smokers Ephemeris (TPSE), US ISSN 0032-0161: Edited and Published for 41 years (1964 - Winter-Spring 2005).
* Frank Burla (deceased) — Frank Burla was a well known antique pipe collector, even internationally, and was the founder and promoter of the annual International Pipe and Tobacciana Show (the Chicago Show). 
1999
* Barry Levin (deceased) — The first major seller and promoter of "Estate Pipes", who very likely created the market for pipes once destined to be destroyed as unhygienic smelly relics.
* Basil Sullivan (deceased)
2000
* Chuck Levi
* Ed Lehman (deceased)
2001
* Bob Hamlin (deceased)
* Rich Esserman — The "Big Pipe Guy", has written extensively and knowledgably about pipes for decades. He is cited often here on Pipedia and contributed a great deal to the "brain trust". 
2002
* Mary McNiel — Co-founder of the now shuttered McClelland Tobacco Co., along with her then husband, Carl R. Ehwa, Jr.. She later continued and expanded the company and its legendary offerings with Mike McNiel.
* Chuck Rio (deceased) — Chuck was a notable briar pipe collector, specializing in Costello pipes, a leader in the Chicagoland Pipe Collectors Club (CPCC) and at the center of the American pipe collector community with his attendance at all of the major pipe shows. 
2003
* Peter Stokkebye (deceased) — Tobacconist
* Linwood Hines — One of the founding members of the Conclave of Richmond Pipe Smokers (CORPS)
2004
* R. David Field — R.D. Field Pipe Import and Distributor Co., partner with Bill Ashton Tyler in Ashton. Scholar and writer, quoted often in Pipedia articles. 
* Ben Rapaport — Scholar, antique pipe collector, author of books, magazine articles, newsletter articles, and Pipedia articles.
2005
* Michael Butera — Pipemaker, and owner of a premium pipe tobacco and cigar distribution company.
* Rick Newcombe — Writer, collector, and influential early advocate of high grade Danish pipes.
2006
* Marty Pulvers — Tobacconist, writer, former owner of Sherlock's Haven, and current proprietor of Pulvers Prior Briar 
* Mike Reschke (deceased)
2007
* Tom McCranie (deceased) — Founder of McCranie's Pipe & Tobacco Shop
* Federico Baylaender (deceased)
2008
* Alberto Bonfiglioli
* Gibb Robinson
2009
* William John Ashton Taylor (deceased) — Pipemaker, formerly with Dunhill and then founder of Ashton 
* Fred Janusek
2010
* Alan Schwartz
* Fred Hanna — Scholar, writer, and avoid collector of Straight Grain pipes and Charatans.
2011
* Paul Creasy
* John Eells (deceased) — Pipemaker, well known for his traditional English shapes and often cited as a mentor by other American Pipe makers.
2012
* Mike McNiel — Tobacco blender and co-owner of McClelland Tobacco Co. with his wife, Doctor of Pipes, Mary McNiell.
* Tad Gage — Scholar, collector, publisher, and well known for his Barling collection and expertise. Contributed extensively to our Barling article on Pipedia.
2013
* Lee von Erck — Pipemaker
* Rex Poggenpohl
2014
* Arron Sissom
* Craig Cobine — Director of the Chicago Pipe Show. Craig passed away in 2024, shortly before the 2024 Chicago show.
2015
* Brian Levine — Worked in virtually every capacity known in the tobacco industry, for a wide variety of companies and with various responsibilities. And currently Host of the Pipes Magazine Radio Show.
* Dennis Congos
2016
* Chuck Stanion — Editor of Pipes & Tobaccos Magazine for 20 years, currently writing for Smokingpipes.com, and often quoted here on Pipedia.
* Eugene Umberger
2017
* Gregory Pease — Tobacco blender G.L. Pease is a long time collector of pipes and has written extensively about pipes and pipe collecting, and often quoted here on Pipedia.
* Vernon Vig — Long time pipe collector, an attorney, and former president of The United Pipe Clubs of America.
2018
* Robert Cooper — Coopersark on eBay. 
* Paul Bender
2019
* Steve Monjure — Owner operator of Monjure International U.S. Distributor of Italian, German, Portuguese, and Danish pipes, as well as premium tobaccos from R. L. Will, James Fox, Brebbia, and Robert Lewis. Also Brebbia accessories. 
* John Tolle — Former president of the North American Society of Pipe Collectors (NASPC)
2020
* Sykes Wilford — Founder and President of Laudisi Enterprises and Smokingpipes.com
* Jeff Knoll — President and Treasurer of the North American Society of Pipe Collectors [(NASPC)], and co-editor of The Pipe Collector.
2021
* Steve Fallon — aka Pipestud, eBay seller of consigned estate pipes, and owner-operator of consignment tobacco website. 
* Mark Irwin — Scholar, collector, and co-writer of The Peterson Pipe book.
2022
* J.T. Cooke — Pipemaker, especially well known for his unique deep blasting technique, and hand cast acrylic stems.
* Jeff Weiner
2023
* Tom Eltang — Pipemaker
* Scott Thile — Founder of Pipedia, Pipemaker
2024
* Marco Parascenzo — Owner of Novelli.it
* Regis McCafferty — Author and co-founder of the NASPC
== Masters of Pipes Awards (2017-present) ==
2017
* Sykes Wilford — Founder and president of Laudisi International and Smokingpipes.com
* David Shain — Founded The Pipery, and The Free Pipe Project, which sends pipe smoking kits to our dedicated service people over seas.
2018
* Jeff Gracik — Pipemaker
* Aziz Panjwani
2019
* Adam Davidson — Pipemaker, estate pipe manager at Smokingpipes.com
2020
* Jon David Cole — Tobacconist Owner/operator of The Country Squire
* Chad Terpstra
2021
* Shane Ireland — Vice president and pipe buyer for Smokingpipes.com
2022
* Michael Parks — Pipemaker
* Neal Osborn
2023
* Nate King — Pipemaker, King of Pipes.
* James Foster — President, Austin Pipe Club, owner of thepipetool.com, Certified Tobacconist.
2024
* Steve Norse — Pipemaker, and founder of Vermont Freehand
* Jay Furman — Jay is the co-host of the Pipe and Tamper podcast.
= Notes =
* We hope to eventually have all the red links (no articles, but a take off for creating one) to blue (indicating we have an article on Pipedia for the recipient). Please feel free to dive in and help. If you have yet to register, send an E-mail to sethile.pipes@gmail.com, and I will create an account for you. 
* This take off page was inspired by the following article by Ben Rapaport, The CPCC Doctor and Master of Pipes Awards: They’re Not Forever Programs, as well as Chuck Stanion's article quoted in the introduction.
Category:Doctor of Pipes