PAST & FUTURE OWAA CONFERENCES
If your destination is interested in learning more about what it takes to host an OWAA conference and use our membership of outdoor media to put a real, national spotlight on all your outdoor adventures, please check out our conference RFP.
OWAA conferences offer our members (and sometimes non-members) access to professional development content to help improve their craft, stay up to date on the latest and greatest achievements in the outdoors and outdoors industries and attain new story ideas.
| YEAR | PRESIDENT | ANNUAL MEETING |
| 1927 | Morris Ackerman | Chicago, Illinois |
| 1928 | Morris Ackerman | Cleveland, Ohio |
| 1929 | Morris Ackerman | Chicago, Illinois |
| 1930 | Bob Becker | Chicago, Illinois |
| 1931 | Bob Becker | Chicago, Illinois |
| 1932 | Cal Johnson | Chicago, Illinois |
| 1933 | No Record | No Record |
| 1934 | Cal Johnson | No Record |
| 1935 | Cal Johnson | possibly Washington, D.C. |
| 1936-37 | George Greenfield | Washington, D.C. |
| 1937-38 | Cal Johnson | St. Louis, Missouri |
| 1938-39 | Jack Van Coevering | Baltimore, Maryland |
| 1939-40 | John Mock | Detroit, Michigan |
| 1940-41 | Dave Roberts | Washington, D.C. |
| 1941-42 | J. Hammond Brown | Memphis, Tennessee |
| 1942-43 | J. Hammond Brown | Toronto, Ontario |
| 1943-44 | J. Hammond Brown | Chicago, Illinois |
| 1944-45 | J. Hammond Brown | Columbus, Ohio |
| 1945-46 | J. Hammond Brown | (Cancelled) |
| 1946-47 | Col. Lewis B. Rock | Chattanooga, Tennessee |
| 1947-48 | J. Hammond Brown | St. Petersburg, Florida |
| 1948-49 | J. Hammond Brown | Rochester, New York |
| 1949-50 | J. Hammond Brown | North Bay, Ontario |
| 1950-51 | J. Hammond Brown | Moosehead Lake, Maine |
| 1951-52 | J. Hammond Brown | Escanaba, Michigan |
| 1952-53 | J. Hammond Brown | Miami, Florida |
| 1953-54 | J. Hammond Brown | Missoula, Montana |
| 1954-55 | J. Hammond Brown | Rolla, Missouri |
| 1955-56 | J. Hammond Brown | Rangeley Lake, Maine |
| 1956-57 | Louis A. Klewer | State College, Pennsylvania |
| 1957-58 | J. Murray Crowder | Aberdeen, Washington |
| 1958-59 | Ries Tuttle | Key Colony, Florida |
| 1959-60 | Joe Mears | Hot Springs, Arkansas |
| 1960-61 | Evan W. Means | Lake Texoma, Oklahoma |
| 1961-62 | Ed Keenan | Jackson Lake, Wyoming |
| 1962-63 | Grits Gresham | Sarasota, Florida |
| 1963-64 | Roger Latham | Erie, Pennsylvania |
| 1964-65 | Bob Steber | McAllen, Texas |
| 1965-66 | John Gartner | Glenwood Springs, Colorado |
| 1966-67 | John Gartner | Port St. Lucie, Florida |
| 1967-68 | Homer Circle | Waskesiu, Saskatchewan |
| 1968-69 | Hurley Campbell | Callaway Gardens, Georgia |
| 1969-70 | Howard Gray | Duluth, Minnesota |
| 1970-71 | Bill Clede | Coeur d’Alene, Idaho |
| 1971-72 | Bodie McDowell | Pensacola, Florida |
| 1972-73 | E.L. “Buck” Rogers | Mazatlan, Mexico |
| 1973-74 | Charles L. Cadieux | Grand Rapids, Minnesota |
| 1974-75 | Bill Potter | Quebec City, Quebec |
| 1975-76 | Henry S. Reynolds | Lake Charles, Louisiana |
| 1976-77 | F. Wallace Taber | Snowmass, Colorado |
| 1977-78 | Mark J. Sosin | Macon, Georgia |
| 1978-79 | R.P. ‘Pete’ Czura | Virginia Beach, Virginia |
| 1979-80 | Dan Saults | Albuquerque, New Mexico |
| 1980-81 | Tom Opre | Rapid City, South Dakota |
| 1981-82 | Sheila K. Link | Louisville, Kentucky |
| 1982-83 | Bob Dennie | Spokane, Washington |
| 1983-84 | Ed Park | Wichita, Kansas |
| 1984-85 | Norman M. Strung | Traverse City, Michigan |
| 1985-86 | George H. Harrison* | Phoenix, Arizona |
| 1986-87 | Howard A. Bach | Harrisburg, Pennsylvania |
| 1987-88 | Thayne Smith | Kalispell, Montana |
| 1988-89 | C. Boyd Pfeiffer | Marco Island, Florida |
| 1989-90 | Joel M. Vance | Des Moines, Iowa |
| 1990-91 | William R Hilts Sr. | Salt Lake City, Utah |
| 1991-92 | Lonnie L. Williamson | Niagara Falls, New York |
| 1992-93 | Tom Huggler* | Bismarck, North Dakota |
| 1993-94 | Michael Levy | Portland, Oregon |
| 1994-95 | Glenn L. Sapir* | Orono, Maine |
| 1995-96 | Mark A. LaBarbera* | Chattanooga, Tennessee |
| 1996-97 | Judd Cooney* | Duluth, Minnesota |
| 1997-98 | Betty Lou Fegely | Haines City, Florida |
| 1998-99 | Tom Wharton* | Redding, California |
| 1999-00 | Jim Casada | Sioux Falls, South Dakota |
| 2000-01 | Cliff Shelby | Greensboro, North Carolina |
| 2001-02 | Bill Monroe* | St. George, Utah |
| 2002-03 | Laurie Lee Dovey | Charleston, West Virginia |
| 2003-04 | Ted Upgren* | Columbia, Missouri |
| 2004-05 | Marty Malin | Spokane, Washington |
| 2005-06 | Spencer Turner | Madison, Wisconsin |
| 2006-07 | Jim Low* | Lake Charles, Louisiana |
| 2007-08 | Rich Patterson* | Roanoke, Virginia |
| 2008-09 | Phil Bloom* | Bismarck, North Dakota |
| 2009-10 | John Beath* | Grand Rapids, Michigan |
| 2010-11 | Tony Dolle* | Rochester, Minnesota |
| 2011-12 | Mike Walker | Salt Lake City, Utah |
| 2012-13 | Mark Taylor* | Fairbanks, Alaska |
| 2013-14 | Bill Graham* | Lake Placid, New York |
| 2014-15 | Mark Freeman* | McAllen, Texas |
| 2015-16 | Lisa (Densmore) Ballard* | Knoxville, Tennessee |
| 2016-17 | Brett Prettyman* | Billings, Montana |
| 2017-18 | Phil Bloom* | Duluth, Minnesota |
| 2018-19 | Paul Queneau* | Fort Wayne, Indiana |
| 2019-20 | Tim Mead | Little Rock, Arkansas |
| 2020-21 | Pat Wray* | Virtual (due to COVID-19 pandemic) |
| 2021-22 | Christine Peterson* | Jay Peak, Vermont |
| 2022-23 | Katie McKalip | Casper, Wyoming |
| 2023-24 | Ken Keffer | Gulf Shores, Alabama |
| 2024-25 | Amy Kapp | El Paso, Texas |
| 2025-2026 | Erin Merrill | Chattanooga, Tenn. |
| 2026-2027 | Ashley Stimpson | TBD |
* Current member, Past Presidents Council (which is comprised of all living past presidents who are OWAA members)
OWAA Conferences and Events
OWAA conferences and events include:
- An annual, in-person conference (generally in the mid/late August time frame)
- Smaller ‘Field Fest’ events that are designed for 20-30 media to be held in smaller destinations and can be any time of the year
- A series of monthly ‘WOW’ (Women Outdoor Writers), ‘HOW’ (Hunting Outdoor Writers) and Emeritus (65 years and older) virtual gatherings
- As needs dictate and opportunities arise there are occasional webinars as well
Non-members that attend OWAA conferences and events and then decide to join OWAA later can have the registration fee for the event attended subtracted from the price of their annual dues.
