OWAA Elects New Board Members
OutdoorHub 05.09.14
Outdoor Writers Association of America membership elected three members to the board of directors: Phil Bloom (Indiana), Sam Caldwell (Texas) and Kris Millgate (Idaho). All three members will take their board seats on May 25 in conjunction with the 2014 OWAA annual conference in McAllen, Texas.
Phil Bloom is a past OWAA president (2008-09), secretary and board member. He is the communications director for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and previously worked 33 years in the newspaper business. He was an award-winning outdoors editor for 16 years at the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, which twice was named OWAA Newspaper Outdoor Page Award Best Outdoors Page during his tenure. He received one of OWAA’s highest honors in 2013 – the J. Hammond Brown Award “for devoted past service to the organization.”
Sam Caldwell is primarily an outdoor artist. But, in order to fund his art, hunting and fishing habits, he has been a writer, photographer and editor for some 35 years. He studied at the University of Houston, worked at the Houston Chronicle as an illustrator and writer, and has had his own business, Wildlife Graphics, for 32 years. He was named Texas State Artist for 2004, and Texas Ducks Unlimited Artist for 2010-2011.
The quiet cast of a fly line cures writer’s block for outdoor journalist Kris Millgate. Many of her multimedia production ideas come from the time she spends in her Idaho base camp. Millgate recognized the meshing of the mediums in 2006 and made the bold move to multimedia as a freelancer with her production company Tight Line Media. She produces outdoor news content for TV, newspapers, magazines and web. She also produces a handful of award-winning films annually. Millgate’s 18 years of experience and several cross-country moves prove she’ll go anywhere for a good story.
