Outdoor Writers Association of America - The Voice of the Outdoors, OWAA Legends

August 31, 2006

For more information contact:
Kevin Rhoades, krhoades@owaa.org
406-728-7434 or 800-692-2477

Outdoor Writers Association of America Awards $15,000 in Scholarships

MISSOULA, Mont. – Outdoor Writers Association of America (OWAA), The Voice of the Outdoors, recently awarded six Bodie McDowell Scholarships totaling $15,000 to students of outdoor communications, including print, photo, art and broadcasting. Bodie McDowell Scholarships recognize graduate and undergraduate students who excel in the area of outdoor communications.

“Mentoring the next generation of professional outdoor communicators is central to the OWAA mission, and the McDowell program is a vehicle through which our organization can reach and encourage aspiring college students,” said OWAA Education Committee Chair Jason Jenkins. “The Education Committee members delight in judging budding outdoor journalists, and we congratulate this year’s award recipients.”

Jenkins and other committee members who are located across the country reviewed applications, scored them based on predetermined criteria and selected winners. OWAA Endowment trustees distribute a calculated portion of the Bodie McDowell Scholarship Fund to college scholarship recipients each year. This year’s winners:

Graduate students:

1st place
Scott Theodore Bonertz
University of Nebraska – Lincoln
(journalism)
2nd place
Jennifer Anne Walton
Colorado State University
(environmental publications)
3rd place
Emily Elizabeth Voigt
The City University in New York
(journalism)

Undergraduate students:

1st place
Brian Lehmann
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
(photojournalism)
2nd place
John T. Jenkins
The University of Kansas
(journalism/communications)
3rd place
Amber Marjorie Bushnell
University of Montana
(journalism)

The Bodie McDowell Scholarship is named after longtime OWAA member Bodie McDowell, an OWAA past president and recipient of OWAA’s prestigious Ham Brown Award, and award recognizing members for devoted past service to the organization. McDowell is a longtime advocate and fundraiser for the scholarship program.

The deadline for next year’s entries is March 15, 2007. For more information, visit www.owaa.org.

Since its inception in 1927, OWAA has become the largest and oldest association of professional outdoor communicators in the United States. OWAA’s mission is to improve the professional skills 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. The national headquarters is located in Missoula, Mont.

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