Friday, April 24, 2020

PORTLAND, Ore. – Northwest Nazarene director of athletic communications Craig Craker and GNAC assistant commissioner for communications Blake Timm have been honored with district awards in the annual Fred Stabley, Sr., Writing Contest conducted by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Craker received two citations and Timm received one in the District 8 contest, which evaluated writing from entries received from most of the states in the western United States. Entries were judged against each other regardless of collegiate division.

Craker tied with Mara Rudolph of the University of California in the coach/admin/historical feature category for “Faith & Love: Rushes Ready To Celebrate First Christmas As A Family.” The feature profiles head men’s basketball coach Paul Rush, the test of faith he and his wife, Kylie, faced in trying to start a family and the quest to adopt.

Craker won the Blog/Interview category for his Behind The Scenes blog, which chronicled the Nighthawks’ women’s cross country team’s trip to the NCAA Division II Championships. The blog not only provided a unique all-access look to the team but also provided for some humorous moments.

Timm tied with Portland State’s Andy Jobanek in the Season Preview/Recap category for his GNAC preview for the 2019 volleyball season, “Washington Rivals Picked To Battle For Volleyball Title.”

With the district awards, the three stories move on to the considered for the contest’s national awards, which will be announced next month.

The two awards are the first in the Fred Stabley, Sr., Writing Contest for Craker, who is in his third year as NNU’s director of athletics communications. Last fall, Craker received the Excellence In Communications Award from the U.S. Track and Field & Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) for his efforts to promote the NNU cross country programs.

The writing contest award for Timm is his 16th but his first in his role with the GNAC. He has previously received 13 district awards and two national awards for his work at Pacific University. In March, it was announced that Timm is part of the 2020 induction class of the CoSIDA Hall of Fame.