Piqua High School Receives National Award for Fall Sports Media Guide

Brian Day, OHSAA Sports Information Intern, August 24, 2009 2:42 p.m.

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Classes have begun across the state of Ohio and the first week of football games kick off this week. Student-athletes, coaches, cheerleaders and administrators have been preparing all summer long for the start of the new season. However, there is one task that goes into preparing for a new sports season that occurs behind-the-scenes and often goes unnoticed.

Hundreds of athletic departments, booster clubs and student groups are currently hard at work putting the finishing touches on fall sports publications, souvenir programs and media guides. Compiling information, designing pages and soliciting advertisements for a program can be a time consuming and at times underappreciated task.

That changed though for an Ohio school that was recently recognized nationally for its efforts in creating its fall sports media guide. The National High School Sports Publications Awards announced that Piqua High School received the 2008 Gold Award in the school's category. The 2nd Annual Awards Competition is designed to recognize excellence in preparation of high school athletic media guides and sports programs across the United States.

"This award is a real feather in the cap of our athletic department to get that type of recognition." said Dave Palmer, athletic director of Piqua. "It's really a credit to the parents and volunteers we have who put the program together."

The Piqua fall sports media guide includes information on all the school's fall sports programs, statistics, rosters, football opponent profiles, several feature stories and other highlights of the Indians' illustrious athletic history. In order to get the most out of the publication, the program features a new cover and new information for every home football game.

Duane Bachman, retired superintendent and former sports director at a local radio station, is among the team of volunteers who spend countless hours creating the media guide every year. While Bachman and the staff are appreciative of the award, don't expect them to rest on their laurels.

"Receiving this award makes us feel like our hard work paid off," Bachman said. "But we are constantly looking for more unique and creative ways to make the publication even better in the future."

The National High School Sports Publication Awards is currently accepting entries for its 3rd annual competition. The entry form and additional information can be found at www.publicationawards.com.