Houlton Pioneer Times reporter Joseph Cyr and WAGM-TV sports director Rene Cloukey are finalists for Maine sportswriter and sportscaster of the year awards from the National Sports Media Association.
Both received enough nominations by NSMA members to make the top two in their respective categories and reach the final ballot.
The ballot now will be emailed to the association’s members later this week. Voting takes place throughout December and state winners will be announced in January 2018.
Rene Cloukey (Courtesy of WAGM-TV)
“The vote is a sign of peer respect,” said Dave Goren, executive director of NSMA, who noted that the organization was founded in 1959 to honor sportscasters and sportswriters for excellence.
Cyr joins Bangor Daily News sportswriter Ernie Clark on the state’s sportswriter final ballot, while Cloukey and Rich Kimball of Black Bear Sports Properties/Learfield in Orono are Maine’s sportscaster finalists.
State winners will be recognized as part of the 59th annual NSMA Awards Weekend, which will be held June 23-25, 2018, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
The NSMA, which is based in Winston-Salem, has more than 1,000 members.
In addition to electing a state sportswriter and sportscaster of the year, the national sportscaster and sportswriter of the year and Hall of Fame inductees are honored each June during the awards weekend, which also features events that foster networking and education.
