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Excellence in Craft Award competitions
are give each year for writing, photography and broadcast. Only NEOWA
members may compete. The entry deadline is December 1 and the award winners
are
announced
during the February
annual meeting in Worcester, Mass.
Recent Excellence in Craft Writing and Photography award winners:
2007 writing awards
2007 photo awards
2006 writing awards
2006 photo awards
Award winners for previous years are listed in the Members' area.
In
addition to the writing and photography awards, two special
"Sportsman
of the Year" awards
are given in honor of two longtime NEOWA members, Dick Cronin and
Joe Yerka.
The Dick Cronin and Joe Yerka Sportsman of the Year Awards are NEOWA's
highest awards honoring members and non-members who have made a major
contribution to the advancement of wildlife conservation in New England.
Each year the Association solicits nominations of individuals who have
had a significant, positive impact on wildlife and on public understanding
of wildlife and wildlife management.
The Dick Cronin Award is given to a member of the New England Outdoor
Writers' Association who has brought special recognition to the outdoor
communications field by virtue of his/her own accomplishments or who
has, through communication, successfully brought about an important achievement
in the conservation, wildlife or environmental field.
2007 Dick Cronin Award Winner: Stu
Bristol
This past fall Stu Bristol of Lyman, Maine, was faced with a choice:
have a serious medical operation or take his grandson on Maine’s
youth deer hunt. After thinking it over, he postponed the operation and
spent time outdoors with his grandson.
As an outdoor writer, Stu has a long track record of sharing his skills and
knowledge with others. He also conducts outdoor schools and donates his time
to a variety of nonprofit organizations and events. One group, the New England
Paralyzed Veterans Association, conducts a bass tournament where Stu helps
the volunteers take anglers in wheelchairs on their boats.
In a column titled, “Becoming an Outdoor Mentor,” Stu wrote: “Each
year, just after the Christmas holiday, I wonder which, if any, of the gifts
we received will endure the test of time. What was under the tree this year
that might be cherished for years to come? Is there anything that might be
passed down to the next generation or will most of those gifts just add to
the proliferation of yard-sale goods?
"Our tangible gift may be a new shotgun or snowshoes or binoculars, but
the underlying gift that is sure to stand the test of time is the sharing of
appreciation for our environment. It is the understanding of the special relationship
we have with all the other living creatures of the world, from black flies to
killer whales, that allows this gift to stand the measure of time.
The Joe Yerka Award is a similar honor awarded to
an individual who is not a member of NEOWA but who has, through communications,
accomplished
something special in an area which is “above and beyond” the
individual's or the group's normal responsibility.
2007 Joe Yerka Award Winner: Richard “Dick” Turner
Working for the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife has been a lifelong
commitment for Richard “Dick” Turner
of Lakeville. “He’s a treasure and a wealth of information,” said
Wayne MacCallum, director of Mass Wildlife. “Dick is our ‘living
history’ and I’ve never seen anyone more passionate about his work.
The man is unbelievable.”
Back in the 1940s Dick started working for the Division as a wildlife technician
and was stationed in the Berkshires. When the state established regional wildlife
offices, Dick and a few colleagues built the Bourne office themselves where Dick
still works to
this day.
“I’ve never seen a more dedicated, hard-working man, who
didn’t
know enough to go home for supper,” said Lou Hambly, retired manager of
the Southeast District, and Turner’s boss for 25 years.
“ Dick has most likely logged more unpaid overtime than any state employee
in history,” Hambly said. “Dick would be in the office long after
hours and he’d work weekends and holidays, checking his bluebird and wood
duck boxes, monitoring the eagles and answering wildlife calls—and he never
got paid for it.”
His work with the Division has included operating deer-check stations in the
fall; stocking trout, salmon, wild turkeys, pheasants and snowshoe hare; and
investigating rare-animal sightings. A recent testimonial in his honor, Turner
said, “I’m a lucky, lucky man to be able to do the work that I love
so much. I have no plans
for retiring, and if I have my choice, I’m going to go with my boots on.”
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