MISSOULA, Mont. – The Outdoor Writers Association of America is pleased to announce the winners of the 2012 Excellence in Craft contests. First-, second- and third-place winners were chosen in ten contests; entries were from work created in 2011. Cash prizes totaled more than $10,000. Prize money, plaques and certificates will be presented to winners at OWAA’s 85th annual conference, Sept. 6, 2012, in Fairbanks, Alaska.
For more information on the annual contests, visit owaa-oldsite.birchbarkmedia.com/eic.
OWAA thanks the 2012 contest sponsors, Coleman Company and RealTree, for their continued support of this prestigious contest program.
2012 winners are as follows:
Television/Video/Webcast
Hunting or Shooting Sports
- 1st place: Kris Millgate, “Elk Whisperer”
- 2nd place: Ron Schara, “Matt Bender”
- 3rd place: Bill Sherck, “Bank for a Buck”
Fishing
- 1st place: Bill Sherck, “The VERY Last Hurrah”
- 2nd place: Bill Sherck, “Day in the Life of a Guide”
- 3rd place: Ron Schara, “3M Bass Tournament”
Conservation or Nature
- 1st place: Karen Loke, “Bastrop fire – More Toad Troubles”
- 2nd place: Ron Schara, “Purple Martins of St. John’s Abby”
- 3rd place: Grant McOmie, “Salmon Saviors”
Humor
- 1st place: Kelly Jo McDonnell, “Dr. Bruce, the Bug Guy”
- 2nd place: Deb Ferns, “Having a Jake… Tips for your 5th Wheel”
- 3rd place: Chris Dorsey, “Winchester Legends: BC Black Bear”
Gear/Technical
- 1st place: Bill Sherck, “St. Croix Rods”
- 2nd place: Ron Schara, “Birth of a Shotgun Shell”
- 3rd place: Bill Sherck, “Lost Creek Kick Boats”
Outdoor Fun and Adventure
- 1st place: Ron Schara, “Bike Stompers”
- 2nd place: Dave Carlson, “The Barkie Birkie”
- 3rd place: Grant McOmie, “Drift Creek Trail”
Family Participation/Youth Outdoor Education
- 1st place: Carol Lynde, “Junior Jack Kamp”
- 2nd place: Kris Millgate, “Wild Ride”
- 3rd place: Dave Carlson, “They Are All Kids, Again”
Radio/Podcast
Hunting or Shooting Sports
- 1st place: Ty Stockton, “Recoil Therapy Warning”
- 2nd place: Dan Small, “Holly Heyser – Why Women Hunt”
- 3rd place: Jeff Kelm, “21st Century Deer Management”
Fishing
- 1st place: Ty Stockton, “Outfished Again”
- 2nd place: Dan Small, “Threats to Mississippi River Fishery”
- 3rd place: Jeff Kelm, “Ice Fishing World Championship”
Conservation or Nature
- 1st place: Jeff Kelm, “Raccoons in the Attic”
- 2nd place: Chris Slemp, “Gulf Coast Recovery”
- 3rd place: Ty Stockton, “Wolf Delisting”
Humor
- 1st place: Peter St. James, “Mythical”
- 2nd place: Ty Stockton, “Rethinking my Valentine Gift”
- 3rd place: Ty Stockton, “Guinea Pig Bait”
Gear/Technical
- 1st place: Jeff Kelm, “Emergency First Aid”
- 2nd place: Ty Stockton, “New Scope”
- 3rd place: Dan Small, “Real Time Wave Data”
Outdoor Fun and Adventure
- 1st place: Jeff Kelm, “Conquer the Rhine”
- 2nd place: Tom Stienstra, “A Christmas Wish”
- 3rd place: Peter St. James, “Thanksgiving”
Family Participation/Youth Outdoor Education
- 1st place: Chris Slemp, “McNeely Bucks”
- 2nd place: Ty Stockton, “Shooting with Dad”
- 3rd place: Peter St. James, “Summer Fishing”
Magazine/E-zine
Hunting or Shooting Sports
- 1st place: Tim Christie, “Don’t buy a tin whistle”
- 2nd place: Tim Christie, “Hunting for Memories”
- 3rd place: George Ingram, “The Bears are Still Winning”
Fishing
- 1st place: Tom Tatum, “The Fisherman’s Father, The Fisherman’s Son”
- 2nd place: Tom Keer, “Isonychia”
- 3rd place: Terry McBurney, “Sporting Collectibles, Part 2: Vintage lures you should be fishing”
Conservation or Nature
- 1st place: Edward Nickens, “Ready, Aim, Fire”
- 2nd place: Bill Vanderford, “In Search of Native Brook Trout”
- 3rd place: Hal Herring, “Wolf Whiplash”
Humor
- 1st place: Shauna Stephenson, “Backseat Rower”
- 2nd place: Joel Vance, “The Wrong Game”
- 3rd place: Robert Ford, “Tanning Hides”
Gear/Technical
- 1st place: Angelo Peluso, “Arti-fish-al Intelligence”
- 2nd place: Lisa Densmore, “Savvy Shotgunning for Women”
- 3rd place: Angelo Peluso, “Arti-fish-al Intelligence, Part Two”
Outdoor Fun and Adventure
- 1st place: Dawn Faught, “Beautiful Badlands”
- 2nd place: Lisa Densmore, “Powder Trip”
- 3rd place: Aaron Teasdale, “Underestimating the Alps”
Family Participation/Youth Outdoor Education
- 1st place: Edward Nickens, “Following our Father”
- 2nd place: Aaron Teasdale, “Flathead by bike (with kids)”
- 3rd place: Aaron Teasdale, “Father Knows Quest”
Newspaper/Website
Hunting or Shooting Sports
- 1st place: Paul Smith, “Making a connection”
- 2nd place: Pat Wray, “Taking a Visit Back to a Faraway Cairn”
- 3rd place: Mark Taylor, “The Thrill of the Chase”
Fishing
- 1st place: Mark Freeman, “Bitterroot”
- 2nd place: Tom Stienstra, “Flyfisher Ed Rice: cast away while he still can”
- 3rd place: Terry Brady, “1st Striper: A pound for each year she’s been his fishing buddy
Conservation or Nature
- 1st place: David Hendee, “Mystical Migration”
- 2nd place: Ben Moyer, “Pooled Resources”
- 3rd place: Paul Smith, “On the trail of the tales of wildlife”
Humor
- 1st place: Mark Taylor, “Modern hunters are all thumbs”
- 2nd place: Mark Taylor, “How to handle your hunting obsession”
- 3rd place: Pat Wray, “Silky’s First Chukar Hunt”
Gear/Technical
- 1st place: Mark Freeman, “Gear Up”
- 2nd place: Mark Taylor, “Hooked on kayaks”
- 3rd place: Brett Prettyman, “If the snowshoe fits…”
Outdoor Fun and Adventure
- 1st place: Margie Goldsmith, “A Close Encounter with New Foundland’s Humpbacks”
- 2nd place: Brett Prettyman, “Seeking the Ends of the Earth”
- 3rd place: Marty Basch, “Making tracks on the bog”
Family Participation/Youth Outdoor Education
- 1st place: Shauna Stephenson, “The first fish”
- 2nd place: Mark Sak, “Of Old and Young and the Outdoors”
- 3rd place: Terry Brady, “1st Striper: A pound for each year she’s been his fishing buddy
Blog
Hunting or Shooting Sports
- 1st place: Deb Ferns, “A Girl Can Never Have Too Much Ammo!”
- 2nd place: Mark Herwig, “Mentoring Adult Turkey Hunter”
- 3rd place: Mark Herwig, “Hunting & Gas Prices”
Fishing
- 1st place: Mike McKenna, “Out Fishing My Father-in-Law”
- 2nd place: Kirk Deeter, “Fly Fishing Should Be Less Manly”
- 3rd place: George Ingram, “Surf Fishing: It’s Quality, Not Quantity, That Counts”
Conservation or Nature
- 1st place: Mark Freeman, “Three-Word Thursday on Yosemite”
- 2nd place: Ed Godfrey, “What will happen to the Lower Illinois?”
- 3rd place: Joel Vance, “Nature’s Undertaker”
Humor
- 1st place: Mike McKenna, “Out Fishing My Father-in-Law”
- 2nd place: Joel Vance, “Romeo and Juliet – Dog Version”
- 3rd place: Deb Ferns, “You know you’re flying too much when…”
Outdoor Fun and Adventure
- 1st place: Aaron Teasdale, “Fall Peaks: The Best Autumn Escapes-Whitefish, Mont.”
- 2nd place: Deb Ferns, “I Fear the Unfamiliar”
- 3rd place: Aaron Teasdale, “What the Mountains Give”
Column
Overall
- 1st place: Ben Moyer, Crossings
- 2nd place: David Barus, Rod, Gun and Game
- 3rd place: Hal Herring, The Conservationist
Book/E-Book
General Audience
- 1st place: Dan Aadland, “In Trace of TR: A Montana Hunter’s Journey”
- 2nd place: Jerry Dennis, “The Windward Shore: A Winter on the Great Lakes”
- 3rd place: Coleen Miniuk Sperry and Paul Gill, “Wild in Arizona: Photographing Arizona’s Wildflowers”
- Honorable Mention: Joel Vance, “Billy Barnstormer: The Birch Lake Bomber”
Illustration/Graphic
General/Overall Outdoor
- 1st place: Sam Caldwell, “Thirteen Years Old”
- 2nd place: Sam Caldwell, “Copano Bay Redfish”
- 3rd place: Bruce Cochran, “Marsh Madness: Grandpa’s Getting Too Old”
Photography
Action
- 1st place: Dawn Faught, “Splash Down”
- 2nd place: Jack Ballard, “Ski it up!”
- 3rd place: Jack Ballard, “Air Time”
People
- 1st place: Aaron Teasdale, “Cyclist Smile”
- 2nd place: Colleen Miniuk-Sperry, “Celebrating the Outdoors”
- 3rd place: Lisa Densmore, “Snowshoe Girl”
Scenic
- 1st place: Tom Ulrich, “St. Mary Lake”
- 2nd place: Colleen Miniuk-Sperry, “Milky Way at Marble Point”
- 3rd place: Tom Ulrich, “Torret Arch”
Flora
- 1st place: Bill Mullins, “Water Lily, North Fork Payette River, ID”
- 2nd place: Colleen Miniuk-Sperry, “Spring’s Gift”
- 3rd place: Lisa Densmore, “Aster”
Fauna
- 1st place: Tom Ulrich, No Title
- 2nd place: Michael Furtman, “Cute Kits – Fox Siblings”
- 3rd place: Tom Ulrich, “Five of a Kind”
Outdoor Fun and Adventure
- 1st place: Aaron Teasdale, “Fireweed Meadow”
- 2nd place: Colleen Miniuk-Sperry, “Playing the Slots”
- 3rd place: Chris Batin, “Mendenhall Glacier Trekking”
Family Participation/Youth Outdoor Education
- 1st place: Mike Wintroath, “Pullin’ Teeth”
- 2nd place: Tim Christie, “Young Boy Hunting”
- 3rd place: Aaron Teasdale, “Toad Races”
Congrats to all!