Former Lehigh County Commissioner Percy H. Dougherty, PhD, of Lower Macungie, has been named chairman of the year by the American Wine Society.

Dougherty, a retired Kutztown University geography professor, received the award at the group’s national convention in Tyson Corner, Va.

The American Wine Society was organized in 1967 as a non-profit, educational, consumer-oriented organization for those interested in learning more about all aspects of wine. The AWS is the largest wine consumer organization in the United States.

The award is presented for service to the American Wine Society and contributions to wine education.

Dougherty is chairman of the Lehigh Valley Chapter, which under his leadership has grown to be the largest chapter in the country with 154 members.

The Lehigh Chapter is an educational organization having monthly meetings at which members analyze and judge wine.

Field trips are taken to local wineries and foreign wine regions.

Recent foreign trips include: Germany, Tuscany & Umbria, Southern France and South America. An upcoming trip is planned to Bordeaux in 2016.

“This award belongs to the Lehigh Valley Chapter members because the success of the chapter is a group effort,” Dougherty said.

“Many people are involved in the operation of the Lehigh Valley Chapter and I am thankful for their cooperation and indebted to their hard work.”

In addition, Dougherty is the founder of the Wine Specialty Group of the Association of American Geographers and has presented numerous scientific papers and workshops at national conventions.

His recent book, “The Geography of Wine: Regions, Techniques and Terroir,” is a research volume published by Springer Scientific.

Other community service includes teaching wine classes at Northampton and Lehigh Carbon community colleges, plus presentations to local civic organizations.

Information on meeting dates and membership in the Lehigh Chapter and to access to the newsletter is available at lehighvalleyaws.org.