El Paso, Texas— The Outdoor Writers Association of America on Sunday, September 22nd revealed the winners of its Excellence In Craft Contest and the President’s Choice Awards at its annual conference.

Bill Sherck received six awards, while Matthew Miller and Ross Purnell took home five awards each.

The EIC Contest honors the best-of-the-best in a variety of communications formats – Blog, Book, Column, Graphic/Illustration, Magazine, Newspaper, Photography, Photography Essay, Radio/Podcast, and TV/Video/Webcast.

The President’s Choice Awards also were announced. The awards were selected by OWAA President Ken Keffer from among the 40 first-place winners in the Blog, Magazine, Newspaper, Photography, Radio/Podcast, and TV/Video contests.

The overall President’s Choice Award was presented to “On Grizzly Ground,” a film by Kris Millgate of Idaho that aired on PBS stations in Idaho and Oregon, in addition to various screenings. Millgate’s film follows federally protected grizzly bears through the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

In addition to “On Grizzly Ground” for the TV/Video/Webcast, other President’s Choice Awards went to:

? Blog – “A Field Guide to Unexpected, Out-of-Place Wildlife” by Matthew Miller (Idaho), Cool Green Science

? Magazine – “Baptism by Quail” by Russell Worth Parker (North Carolina), Garden and Gun Magazine

? Newspaper – “Changes are needed to protect longnose suckers, other native species'” by Paul Smith (Wisconsin), Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

? Photography – “King Birch” by Dylan Jones (West Virginia), Stumptown Ales, Davis, WV

? Radio/Podcast – “Mepp's Legacy...” by Bill Sherck (Minnesota), Podcasts/World Wide Web

Sherck (Minnesota) collected four first-place awards. His firsts were in TV/Video/Webcast, Family Participation/Youth Outdoor Education for “Fishy French Portage!” in Minnesota Bound; Radio/Podcast, Gear/Technical for “Mepp's Legacy...”; TV/Video/Webcast, Gear/Technical for “Adipose!” on Made For The Outdoors Sportsman Channel; and TV/Video/Webcast, Hunting or Shooting Sports for “ North Maine's Flat Tire Flush!” on The Flush The Outdoor Channel.

Of five awards, Miller won two first-place awards. Both were in the Blog contest, for his blogs “50 Fish, 50 States: Rudd of South Dakota” in Cool Green Science for the Fishing category, and “A Field Guide to Unexpected, Out-of-Place Wildlife” in Cool Green Science for Outdoor Adventure. He lives in Boise, Idaho.

Purnell (Pennsylvania) won first-place for “Over the Guardrail” in the TV/Video/Webcast contest for the Fishing category. His remaining four awards included two in the Graphic/Illustration contest and two in the Magazine contest.

Smith won three additional awards besides the one chosen for President’s Choice. Two were in the Newspaper contest and one was in the Column contest. All were published in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

In addition to receiving the overall President’s choice award, Kris Millgate took home a first place award for “Over Your Head” in the Magazine contest.

A total of 135 EIC awards were presented to 78 OWAA members.

This year’s contest was sponsored by Friesens Publishing and Pew Charitable Trusts. This year’s contest also received a pledge from the Cochran family for the Humor categories in honor of the late Bruce Cochran, a long time OWAA member and multi-year EIC award winner.

About OWAA

Recognized as “The Voice of the Outdoors,” OWAA is the nation’s largest organization of professional outdoor journalists. Its membership includes writers, photographers, videographers, radio and TV personalities, digital storytellers and artists. Formed in 1927, the nonprofit association’s mission is to improve the professional skills and opportunities of its members, set the highest ethical and communications standards, encourage public enjoyment and conservation of natural resources, and mentor the next generation of professional outdoor communicators. https://owaa.org