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Gillen protege
Kroft wins first Bob Gillen Memorial Award
Cox wins two
NASJA Hirsch Newspaper Awards, Cowan and Lukens also presented awards
Gillen protege Kroft wins first Bob Gillen Memorial Award
Gina
Kroft, director of marketing at Crested Butte Mountain Resort, was honored
as winner of the North American Snowsports Journalists Association first
Bob Gillen Memorial Award for contributions to the advancement of snowsports
March 16, 2002, at the organization's awards banquet in Banff.
Kroft was originally hired by Gillen at Crested Butte, and considered him her
mentor in learning the intricacies of ski area marketing and public relations.
Gillen, a longtime journalist and marketing director for several ski resorts,
passed away in 2001. NASJA dedicated an award in his honor ``to exemplify the
highest standards of professionalism in public relations and communications.''
Kroft received the award after a close balloting among NASJA members with Chip
Carey of The Canyons (Utah) and Joe Stevens of Snowshoe Resort (West Virginia)
among the finalists.
NASJA President Dave Irons introduced Kroft at the banquet: ``Bob Gillen did
much to define the way journalists and information specialists at ski resorts
work together through professionalism, and Gina Kroft learned at his side.
She is an outstanding choice for the first Bob Gillen Memorial Award.''
Cox wins two NASJA Hirsch Newspaper Awards, Cowan and Lukens also presented awards
Bob Cox,
whose ski columns appear in two newspapers in California and several others
across the nation, was named the first ever double winner in the North
American Snowsports Journalists Association writing competition March 16
at the organization's awards banquet in Banff.
Cox, of Torrance, CA, received the Harold S. Hirsch Awards for Excellence in
Snowsports Journalism in both Newspaper Columns and Newspaper Features.
Cox has now won four Harold Hirsch awards, tying him with three other journalists
for the most awards since the competition began in 1963. Other four-time winners
were Denver Post columnist Charlie Meyers (1977-82), Colorado free-lance writer
Peter Shelton ('84-92), and magazine and book author Jules Older ('91-2000).
Jay Cowan of Aspen, CO., and SKI magazine, was honored as
winner of the Harold S. Hirsch Awards for Excellence in Snowsports Journalism
in Magazine Writing.
It was the first award for Cowan, whose work has also appeared in Sojourner,
Skiing, Couloir, Powder, Freeskier, Cross-Country and the old Snow Country
magazine. He is also author of a book called, ``The Best of the Alps,'' which
is still in publication.
Shannon Luthy Lukens of Highland Ranch, CO, received her first
Hirsch Award for Website Writing. In presenting the awards, NASJA member Lynn
Rosen read from some of the judge's comments on the winners.
One judge said of the ski columns written by Cox: "A good columnist is
like a good friend: You may not agree with all of his opinions, but you sure
look forward to hearing them. Bob Cox is a good columnist. His style is casual
and conversational, which makes for an easy read. But he also sneaks in solid
advice without patronizing the reader, not an easy trick to pull off.
"His columns address common questions, frustrations, and joys shared by
anyone who spends time on the slopes - yet he has the ability to surprise the
reader with a new perspective or by dusting off a long-forgotten truth. He acts
as your eyes and ears out there, more often than not scratching his head and
exclaiming, `Ain't that a kick.' You feel that Bob is living his life, and letting
the readers in on all the fun and frustrations. You could do worse for a friend.''
One of the judges said this about the ski stories written by Cowan: "The
contributors to this year's (magazine) competition are of a uniformly high
caliber, making the selection of particular outstanding work difficult.
One of the judges said this about the website writing by longtime broadcast journalist Lukens:"I was somewhat torn between my interest in reading for entertainment versus reading for cold, hard facts. Luckily, I felt there was one writer who managed an especially good balance between the two, and that was Shannon Luthy (Lukens). Her copy was easy to read, yet did not waste too many words in her pursuit of good, solid information. It is obvious to me she is a professional writer, and I think I would like to read anything she had to say, not just on skiing."
