Bob Dyer -- 33 awards and still typing away

Beacon Journal columnist Bob Dyer's selection by the Associated Press Society of Ohio for columnist of the year is old hat to Bob. It's his 32nd national or state award in a career that began in 1975 with the Wooster Daily Record and switched to the BJ in 1984.

In three years Bob -- my Blue Room lunch partner till my 1996 retirement from the BJ -- has een named Ohio columnist of the year FOUR times -- by the Associated Press Society of Ohio (2011), Ohio Society of Professional Journalists (2010 and 2009) and the Press Club of Cleveland (2010).

Bob one-upped that honor in 2008, when the National Society of Professional Journalists named him the best columnist in the nation.

Among the 13 first places for Bob:

General-Interest Column, Press Club of Cleveland, 2010.
Personality Profile, Press Club of Cleveland, 2005.
Feature Writing, Ohio Associated Press, 2001.
Feature Writing, Press Club of Cleveland, 1993.
Arts/Entertainment Writing, Press Club of Cleveland, 1987.
Arts/Entertainment Writing, Press Club of Cleveland, 1986.
Investigative Reporting, Women in Communications, 1986.
Newspaper Series, Women in Communication, 1986.

The rest of a long list of accomplishments for Bob:

Second place, Column Writing, Ohio Associated Press, 2008
Second place, Newsmaker Profile, Ohio Society of Professional Journalists, 2005.
Second place, Personality Profile, Ohio SPJ, 2000.
Second place, Public Service Journalism, Ohio SPJ, 1998.
Second place, Sunday Magazine Human Interest Story, Press Club of Cleveland, 1995.
Second place, Arts/Entertainment Writing, Press Club of Cleveland, 1990.
Third place, Best Columnist in Ohio, Ohio Associated Press, 2010.
Third place, Feature Reporting, Ohio Associated Press, 1993.
Third place, General-Interest Columns, National Society of Newspaper Columnists, 2008.
Third place, Herb Caen Award, National Society of Newspaper Columnists, 2010
Third place, Multiple-Topic Columns, National Society of Newspaper
Columnists, 2009.
Third place, general commentary, Society for Features Journalism.
Fourth place, Multiple-Topic Columns, National Society of Newspaper Columnists, 1996.
Honorable Mention, Personality Profile, Ohio SPJ, 2006.
Honorable mention, Feature Writer, Ohio Associated Press, 2002.
Honorable mention, Feature Reporting, Ohio Associated Press, 1989.
Finalist, Best Newspaper Series, Penney-Missouri Journalism Awards, 1987.
One of lead writers, Pulitzer Prize for Public Service, 1994.
Contributor, Pulitzer Prize for General News Reporting, 1987.
Nominated for Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing, 1993 and 2004.

Phil Trexler, this year named first in news writing and second in enterprise reporting by the Associated Press Society of Ohio, was third in news writing a year earlier and got an honorable mention in breaking news in 2007.

Former BJ staffer David Giffels was chosen best news writer in 2008, when the Beacon Journal was first in community service.

Ken Love was first in spot news photo in 2007, with Phil Masturzo second.

Former BJ staffer Terry Pluto, now at the PD, won first place as sports writer in the latest Associated Press Society of Ohio awards.

The Columbus Dispatch had the most winners (52) this year.

Massillon Independent was first among newspapers with circulation under 13,000. The Indie also was first in 2007, second in 2009 and third in 2008.

Click on the headline for the list of all the winners of this year's Associated Press Society of Ohio awards in the BJ's circulation category.