Boating Writers International (BWI) announced today the election of a new board of directors and detailed the annual Best Boating Journalism awards in the monthly Journal. Among those honored were Brady L. Kay, Pontoon & Deck Boat magazine’s executive editor.
“I’ve been a member of BWI for almost 20 years,” Kay says, “and it’s an organization I believe in. I’m excited about the opportunity to be more involved.”
Among Kay’s responsibilities as a Director will be to head up the newly expanded NMMA Innovation Awards at the Minneapolis Boat Show. The Innovation Award programs honor manufacturers and suppliers who bring new, innovative products to market and are traditionally presented to exhibitors at the International Boat Builders’ Exposition & Conference (IBEX) and the Progressive Insurance Miami International Boat Show.
“By expanding the innovation awards to Minneapolis show,” Kay says, “this is an opportunity to incorporate whole categories of boats that may have been overlooked in the past. It’s a really exciting time to be involved with boats of all kinds, both as a consumer and as an innovator.”
NMMA partners with BWI to provide knowledgeable and unbiased judges. Volunteer members of BWI bring a thorough working knowledge of boats and boating products, as well as general marine expertise, to the judging process.
“What better way to judge innovation,” Kay asks, “than using the people who write and review them all the time?
Kay brings not only marine expertise, but also knowledge of the inner-workings of the award program itself. While the panel of judges rotates every year to avoid favoritism, Kay has served as a volunteer judge multiple times over his near 20-year BWI membership. As Lead Chair, Kay will pick the judges on the panel each year and oversee the process of submission, exhibition, and judging.
“BWI helps me stay connected to a small group of writers in a tightly held industry who watch out for each other and help each other out. It’s an honor to be recommended and voted in by colleagues I respect in an industry I that love.”
In addition to his new position at BWI, Kay was awarded third place in the Boating Photography category in the organizations annual Best Boating Journalism awards. In its Silver Anniversary year, the BWI contest attracted 126 participants submitting 277 entries. Certificates of Merit were presented to writers of another 35 articles which scored within 95 percent of third-place tallies in each category. All submissions to the contest were published in 2017. Each of the categories was judged by four active journalists in the first few weeks of the New Year.
“Whenever you win an award from the BWI Contest,” Kay says, “you know you’re going up against the best. So, to be in the top three for the photography award is incredibly humbling.”
Presentations in 17 contest categories representing $17,000 in awards were made to first , second and third place scores. Cash award recipients also received a recognition plaque noting their “Excellence in creating compelling stories about the boating lifestyle through entertaining, educational and inspiring journalism.”
Complete list of BWI Contest winners can be found here, with links to their work(http://www.bwi.org/best-boating-journalism-recognized-for-25th-year/).
More information about Boat Writers International can be found on their website here (http://www.bwi.org/).
Pontoon & Deck Boat magazine is published by Harris Publishing, Inc. along with Great Lakes Boating and Houseboat magazines.
