The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) will honor three outstanding individuals and one company at its upcoming Member Breakfast Meeting. The AHPA Awards, established in 2005, acknowledge individuals and organizations who make substantive, positive contributions to the herbal products industry beyond what is expected for business success. The 2008 AHPA Award honorees are:\

* 2008 AHPA Hero: Anthony Young, AHPA’s General Counsel and partner with the law firm Kleinfeld, Kaplan and Becker, LLP, (www.kkblaw.com/bio/bio_young.html). The AHPA Hero is an individual who makes outstanding contributions to the association’s committees or initiatives, and AHPA is pleased to recognize Tony’s long history supporting AHPA and the herbal industry in a variety of invaluable ways.

* 2008 AHPA Herbal Insight Award: Steven Foster, author, photographer, and herbalist (www.stevenfoster.com). The AHPA Herbal Insight Award honors those individuals or non-commercial organizations that have a significant impact on furthering knowledge and understanding of botanicals and their uses. Steven’s stirring images and comprehensive books and articles have furthered the understanding and acceptance of herbs for 35 years.

* 2008 AHPA Herbal Insight Award: Stephen Straus, MD (deceased), first director of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health (http://nccam.nih.gov/news/2007/051507.htm). The AHPA Herbal Insight Award honors those individuals or non-commercial organizations that have a significant impact on furthering knowledge and understanding of botanicals and their uses. Although sometimes controversial, Stephen’s impact on how the science of herbs is viewed is undeniable and laid the groundwork for the strides being made today in herb research.

* 2008 AHPA Herbal Industry Leader: Herb Pharm (www.herb-pharm.com ). The AHPA Herbal Industry Leader is presented to companies that set an example of outstanding business practice or organizations that work to move the industry forward above and beyond normal business practice. Herb Pharm is a fine example of a boutique herbal company that always does things right.

"The contributions of each of the 2008 AHPA Awards recipients are worthy of special recognition and thanks, and we are honored to acknowledge them," said Michael McGuffin, AHPA’s president.

The awards will be presented on Thursday, March 13, 2008, during AHPA’s annual member meeting at the Anaheim, California, Convention Center, in conjunction with Natural Products Expo West.