(BADIN, N.C.) - Wade "WC" Hodges, a rising junior at Georgia Southern University, is the 2016 Lindsay Sale-Tinney Award recipient. Presented by the Outdoor Journalist Education Foundation of America (OJEFA), the award provides an aspiring young outdoors communicator with a scholarship to attend the annual conference of the Southeastern Outdoor Press Association (SEOPA). Hodges will receive conference registration, lodging and travel expenses to Lakeland, Fla., where he will meet industry icons, attend seminars, and learn everything he can about being a successful outdoor communicator.
"I applied for the Lindsay Sale-Tinney Award because I saw it as a great opportunity to showcase my God-given talents to professionals in the industry," Hodges said. "By going to the conference, I hope to gain wisdom and knowledge from those at the top of the outdoor communications field while also establishing essential relationships that could help advance my career. I think this conference is a great chance for me to get my foot in the door and hopefully lead me to where I want to be. I am expecting to meet a lot of influential people while I am there and create friendships that will last a lifetime."
SEOPA President Gil Lackey said, "Our goal is to encourage young folks to pursue a career in outdoor media. It's inspiring to watch the younger generation meet and learn from outdoors icons at the SEOPA conference. I can't wait to meet Wade and welcome him into the SEOPA family." Hodges will be one of at least six communicators at the upcoming conference under the age of 26.
Stu Tinney, founder of the original Striper magazine and tournament series, is the benefactor of the Lindsay Sale-Tinney Award. His donation of $25,000 at the 2013 conference is restricted for the sole purpose of providing this conference scholarship. Tinney established the award to honor his late wife, Lindsay Sale-Tinney, and her love of the outdoors, animals, children, photography and education. "The SEOPA conference provides a super venue for networking, learning and enjoying fellowship with like-minded individuals," Tinney said. "I can't imagine a more fitting tribute to Lindsay than to send young outdoor communicators to a SEOPA conference."
To learn more about the Lindsay Sale-Tinney award, please watch a short video produced by previous recipient Josh Honeycutt at Lindsay Sale-Tinney Award (http://seopa.org/ojefascholarship-information/).
About SEOPA: The Southeastern Outdoor Press Association, Inc., has been helping outdoor communicators and allied industry representatives excel in their professions since 1964. For more information visit seopa.org.
About OJEFA: The Outdoor Journalist Education Foundation of America, Inc. is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization established by the Southeastern Outdoor Press Association in 2004 to further education, research and network opportunities in the field of outdoor journalism for students, active outdoor journalists and outdoor journalist organizations. For more information visit OJEFA (http://seopa.org/ojefa-mission-statement/)
Contact: Lisa Snuggs, SEOPA Executive Director/ OJEFA CEO, lisa@seopa.org, 407-984-4700
