awards

OWO CRAFT AWARDS CONTEST

The OWO Awards honor work by members of the Outdoor Writers of Ohio published or broadcast in each calendar year previous to the current conference year. (Categories are listed annually in the October issue of Lore.)

IMPORTANT NOTE: Awards: Returning this year will be monetary awards, though details are still being formulated. It likely will take on a “First Place, Winner-Take-All” format based upon the amount of sponsorship being provided. This year’s OWO Craft Improvement Contest sponsor is the Ohio Marine Trades Association, formerly the Lake Erie Marine Trades Association. Certificates will be awarded to all place winners and will reflect the addition of the sponsor’s name.

Bruce Dawson/Jim Morris Award

Do you know of an organization that deserves to be recognized for its efforts to help promote enjoyment of Ohio’s great outdoors? Consider nominating such a group for the OWO’s Bruce Dawson/Jim Morris Award.

Each application, submitted by a current OWO member, should include:

The name, phone number and email for the group spokesperson
A short history of the organization
A mission statement of the organization
A demonstration of need (how the cash prize would help)

The organization can be any non-profit group involved with conservation or education about Ohio’s outdoors. The award, including a cash prize, will be presented at the annual conference.

If you have any questions, contact John Hageman at Hageman.2@osu.edu. Nominations should be received by December 1st of each year.

Lou Klewer – George Laycock Award

The award amounts to the OWO Hall of Fame. These are the recipients of the Lou Klewer – George Laycock Award, the highest honor an OWO member can receive. It is presented excludively for service to the organization.

The Award is named for the late Lou Klewer and the late Gorge Laycock. Klewer achieved national acclaim as Outdoor Editor for The Toledo Blade for nearly 60 years. Klewer was president of OWO from 1947 to 1950 and compiled the longest record of service as a board member and officer. After his death in 1983, the Board established an award in his honor with the option of selecting a deserving recipient each year.

Based in Cincinnati, Laycock, whose work focused on conservation and the outdoors, authored more than fifty books and scores of articles published by Audubon, Reader’s Digest, Outdoor Life and other magazines. He logged more than half a century of service with OWO. His name was added to the award in 2017.

Lou Klewer – Gorge Laycock Award Recipients:

1985 – John Andreoni
1986 – Ben Doepel
1987 – Steve Pollick
1988 – Bob Light
1989 – Bill Ignizio
1990 – Jeffrey Frischkorn
1991 – C Hobart McKarns
1992 – Bob Tomasko
1993 – Paul Liikala
1994 – Roy Clayton
1995 – Bruce Knodel
1996 – Frank Snare
1997 – W.H. ‘Chip’ Gross
1998 – Fred Snyder

1999 – Ted Barton
2000 – Scott Carpenter
2001 – Art Weber
2002 – Mike Tontimonia
2003 – Tom Melody
2004 – Chip Hart
2005 – Tom Cross
2006 – Guy Denny
2007 – Vicki Mountz
2008 – Ed & Joanne Moody
2010 – Melissa Hathaway
2011 – Celeste Baumgartner
2012 – Fred Nofziger
2017 – Mike Mainhart
2018 – Jim Morris

2019 – Beverly Frischkorn

2020 – John Hageman

2021 – Robert Loewendick

scholarships

The Outdoor Writers of Ohio Scholarship

From the OWO general membership.

The Wodrich-Andreoni Memorial Scholarship

From the OWO Spice (members' spouses).

The Lawrence and June Brobst Family Memorial Scholarship

In honor of Ohio family dedicated to conservation.

The Toyota Let’s Go Places Scholarship

*Each scholarship will be in the amount of $1,000

ELIGIBILITY: Applicants must currently be attending an Ohio college, majoring in a field as described above. Each application will be considered for all scholarships.

APPLICATION: Applicants should send:

A short essay, not exceeding 250 words, describing the applicant’s career goals, field of study and how this scholarship would help achieve a degree.
Either a college transcript or a copy of the last two semester’s grades (such as copies of online grade postings).
A brief letter of recommendation (2-3 paragraphs) from a professor or an advisor.

Applications must include full names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses of applicants. Judging will be done by education committee members of the OWO Spice and the Outdoor Writers of Ohio.

Outdoor Writers of Ohio, Inc.
Fred L. Snyder, Chair
OWO Scholarship Committee
754 Co. Rd. 126, Fremont, OH 43420
fnsnyder@woh.rr.com

annual conference

Each year OWO holds a spring conference to celebrate our beautiful state and our outstanding membership, to allow for networking, sharing ideas and projects, and to build upon our work with guest speakers and other educational opportunities.

The conferences are held at various locations around the Buckeye State, providing opportunities for our members to fish, hike, kayak, and enjoy the attractions of the host county.

On the last evening of each annual conference, we hold a banquet and awards ceremony where we recognize our members for their contributions in various categories of craft excellence and outreach. We also award student scholarships at that time.