Garden City sports editor awarded Pro Rodeo honor
courtesy of PRCA
Garden City, Kan. (December 9, 2016) – A Garden City, Kan. man has won the PRCA’s Media Awards Excellence in Rodeo Print Journalism.
Brett Marshall, sports editor for the Garden City Telegram, was honored with the award during the PRCA’s annual awards banquet held in Las Vegas on November 30.
Marshall got involved in rodeo when he moved back to his hometown area eight years ago. As sports editor for the Telegram, he covered the Beef Empire Days Rodeo, held annually in June. He hadn’t covered a rodeo since the 1980’s in Hutchinson, Kan., and it was new to him. Rodeo personnel, including secretary Barb Duggan and stock contractors Jim and TJ Korkow of Korkow Rodeo helped him, giving him the information he needed and introducing him to cowboys and rodeo contract personnel.
Since then, Marshall has covered the Beef Empire Days every year and loves it. “Those three days I cover the rodeo are three most fun days I have all year.” He credits Jim and TJ Korkow and the rodeo crew for making it enjoyable. “They make it fun. It doesn’t feel like work when I go there.”
His rodeo stories have ranged from interviews with winning cowboys to the livestock. One year, he wrote a story from the perspective of a bucking bull. The story was well-received, he said. “It got a lot of responses.”
Tom Blackburn, a former member of the Beef Empire Days rodeo committee, said Marshall is deserving of the award. When Marshall first covered the rodeo eight years ago, “he got right in there, and even though he didn’t know anything about rodeo, he asked questions and worked hard at establishing relationships and getting to know rodeo.”
Marshall, who was involved in amateur golf, among other sports throughout his career, has developed a love for the sport and the contestants. “They’re the most courteous group of athletes I deal with, far and away,” he said. “I have a high regard for what they do. When they earn their winnings, it’s what they’ve done, and nobody else has done it for them. I think the cowboy competitor in the PRCA is a very committed individual and they love what they do. They do it with a passion.”
Other media category winners include Excellence in Rodeo Photography, won by Ric Andersen, and Excellence in Rodeo Broadcast Journalism, won by Marty Campbell.
The PRCA Media Awards are given each year to winners in the categories of rodeo photography, rodeo broadcast, and print journalism, for their excellence in portraying pro rodeo.
