BY ROBIN GINER
In case you were unable to join us for our conference in Alaska, now that we’ve returned I’d like to share some congratulations that are in order to several OWAA members. On Thursday night, Sept. 6, OWAA members concluded conference with our annual awards banquet. Four of OWAA’s distinguished members were honored: Dave Richey, with the Circle of Chiefs Award; Mark LaBarbara, J. Hammond Brown Memorial Award; Thayne Smith, Excellence in Craft Award; and Kaye Upgren, Jackie Pfeiffer Memorial Award. Read more about the honorees and the awards on Page 23.
The banquet also highlighted the outstanding work from the 2012 Excellence in Craft contests; winners in attendance collected awards and received the admiration and congratulations of their peers. A full list of this year’s winners can be found on Pages 24-30.
Much appreciation to those who volunteered many hours of their time to help judge the most recent round of EIC contests: for the TV contest, Sue Hansen; radio contest, Marty Malin; magazine contest, chief judge Mike Zlotnicki and sub-judges Dennis Scharadin, Jennifer Bloodgood and Geoff Cantrell; newspaper contest, chief judge Robin Kepple and sub-judge Greg Johnson; blog contest, Jim Foster; column contest, chief judge Will Elliott and sub-judges Joseph Forma and William R. Hilts Sr.; book contest chief judge Jack Ballard and sub-judges Chris Madson and Tony Dolle; illustration/graphics contest chief judge Bob LeHew and sub-judge Nancy Patterson; and for the photo contest, chief judge Julie Hammonds and sub-judges Gary Schafer, Carol Lynde, Bob Miles and Erin Pajak.
A committee of OWAA past presidents chose the best of the best from this year’s EIC contest winners for the Presidents’ Choice Awards. Congratulations to: Kris Millgate, the 2012 Presidents’ Choice TV/Video winner, for “The Elk Whisperer”; Jeff Kelm, the 2012 Presidents’ Choice Radio/Podcast winner, for “Conquer the Rhine”; T. Edward Nickens, the 2012 Presidents’ Choice Magazine winner, for “Ready, Aim, Fire”; Paul Smith, the 2012 Presidents’ Choice Newspaper winner, for “Making a Connection”; Aaron Teasdale, the 2012 Presidents’ Choice Blog winner for “Fall Peaks: The Best Autumn Escapes – Whitefish, Mont.”; and Tom Ulrich, the 2012 Presidents’ Choice Photo winner, for “St. Mary’s Lake.”
Now that we’ve come full-circle with the 2012 contests, it’s time to begin the cycle for the 2013 contests. You’ll find the rules for the next round of EIC contests on Pages 18-22 and online at www. owaa.org/eic. As in the past couple of years, online submissions are preferred. The early deadline to submit your best work from this year is Jan. 7, 2013, with final entries due to OWAA headquarters no later than Feb. 1. Book entries adhere to a special deadline, and will be due by Dec. 1, 2012. Thanks to those who took the time to comment on this year’s rules so minor adjustments could be made. Be sure to read the rules thoroughly and contact headquarters at info@owaa.org with any questions.
Again, congratulations to the winners of this year’s EIC contests and to the recipients of OWAA’s honorary awards. And good luck to everyone submitting entries for the 2013 EIC contests! ◊
— OWAA Executive Director Robin Giner
A round of applause
