Never too old to write (or win awards) I guess

I guess I’ll wind up dying with my reporter’s notebook in hand.

Or at the very least I’ll go down slinging ink. And in the process maybe pick up another journalism award or two.

During the just-concluded Outdoor Writers of Ohio’s 75^th Annual Conference held in Athens, Ohio, my efforts with this electronic Internet blog, my work appearing in The News-Herald prior to my retirement and even afterwards, as well as my writing with the Ohio Outdoor News was good for two first place awards, three second place awards, and one third place awards in the group’s Craft Improvement competition.

In the group’s Best Newspaper Special Section or Series came a first place award for a series of columns collectively called “Ammo Shortage? No, Just Supply and Demand.” This group of stories also appeared in modified form in this blog.

The second first place award came for my final regular News-Herald outdoors column in a farewell story last March entitled “Career Affords Many Gifts,” as an entry in the group’s Best Newspaper Article category.

Among the presented second place awards was one for my “Trails End” Ohio Outdoor News column. This column appears in each edition of that publication and which comes out on an every-other-week basis.

Also for appearing in the Ohio Outdoor News magazine-style newspaper was a good for second place companion series entitled “Pymatuning Fishing Techniques” and in OWO’s “Best Newspaper Special Section or Series” category.

The third second place award was in OWO’s “Will Harbaum Award: Best Travel Article: for the exclusively News-Herald travel story “Discover Alabama’s Gulf Coast Civil War Role.”

Finally, the third place award was for an exclusive submission from this blog in OWO’s Best Internet Article for “On the Passing of Two Lake County Giants.” This was a Sept. 11, 2013 Internet blog story on the death of long-time community and local environmental leader Hugh Pallister and area horticultural and garden plant expert Rudy J. Veselko Sr.

Just by way of reference, on April 1, 2013 I retired after 30 years as a reporter for The News-Herald, mostly covering the outdoors, earth sciences as well as the area’s three county park districts.

But since any writer’ ego is too large to get in the way of retiring completely; I continue to maintain this blog. Also, I have kept up my association with the Ohio Outdoor News, both as a columnist along with Steve Pollick, the retired outdoors editor for the Toledo Blade, and as regular freelance features writer.

Ohio Outdoor News is an every-other-week newspaper-style “magazine” that is part of a group of similar Midwest and East sibling publications. It is Ohio’s most widely read publication devoted strictly to items associated with the state’s hunters, anglers, conservationists and other outdoor enthusiasts.

The Outdoor Writers of Ohio is the nation’s oldest such state association devoted to the outdoors, conservation and related matters.

- Jeffrey L. Frischkorn

JFrischk@Ameritech.net

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