Ohioana Award

I was honored, flattered, and very thrilled to receive the John Barry Ohioana Award for Editorial Excellence last Saturday, October 22. I accepted the award on behalf of Bird Watcher's Digest which my family has published since 1978.
Here's the Ohioana Library's mission statement: The Ohioana Library Association is dedicated to: encouraging and recognizing the creative accomplishments of Ohioans; maintaining and preserving a permanent collection of books and music by Ohioans and about Ohio; disseminating information about the work of Ohio writers, musicians and other artists.
Of course I am just the person who happened to be sitting in the editor's chair when BWD won this award. Yes, this is my dream job, and I am utterly dedicated to BWD and our readers, but there are MANY other people who contribute to the magazine's editorial quality. In my acceptance speech I tried to recognize a few of the key contributors to BWD creation, existence, and overall quality. Bill and Elsa Thompson (my parents) deserve a ton of credit for having the gumption to start the magazine. The late Pat Murphy was our bird watching mentor and associate editor for many years. Mary Bowers was BWD's editor from 1979 until 1995 and set the tone for our editorial quality. These days we rely on BWD Managing Editor Debbie Griffith, Sarah Brady (production director) and Amy Wells (editorial assistant) to keep things in order. The entire BWD staff is a close-knit team that enjoys working together: Andy Thompson (BWD publisher and my brother), Ann Kerenyi (our controller), Susan Hill (fulfillment director), Heather Coty Smith (circulation), Helen Neuberger (customer service), Linda Brejwo (advertising), Josh Schlicher (BWD Direct). A handful of outside consultants and contributing editors also help BWD to be all it can be. Special mention here to John Johanek, Bob Ayers, Durrae Johanek, Julie Zickefoose, Jeff Gordon, Laura Kammermeier, and Katherine Koch.
I want to thank the folks at the Ohioana Library (Kate, Linda, Susan) for this wonderful honor. I still can't believe it.

Bye for now,
BT3