Ron Spomer with a spectacular Colorado bull. (Photo credit: Ron Spomer)
Readers of Sporting Classics know the magazine’s rifle editor, Ron Spomer, is an immensely talented writer and photographer. Spomer has traveled all over the world in pursuit of animals, art, and the perfect wording to share the outdoor life with. Now that hard work is being recognized by two of the biggest entities in the outdoor industry.
The Professional Outdoor Media Association and the National Shooting Sports Foundation named Ron the winner of the 2016 Grits Gresham Award, presenting him with the honor at this year’s SHOT Show. The honor is annually bestowed on outdoor media members for their extraordinary achievements in communications, specifically in the areas of responsible firearms use, the shooting sports, and hunting.
“The whole POMA organization is excited to honor a journalist who has made such a vast contribution to the outdoor communications profession. Personally, I have been reading and watching Mr. Spomer’s work for many years,” said Kevin L. Orthman, Executive Director of POMA. “The Grits Gresham Award is one of the highest awards POMA gives out each year and Mr. Spomer is a great example of someone who has spent his career upholding traditional American sports.”
The award is named for Grits Gresham, a man who, like Spomer, utilized all manner of media to spread outdoor knowledge. He was an author, photographer, and, perhaps most famously, the host of ABC’s The American Sportsman series from 1966 to 1979.
“Grits Gresham set a high standard as an outdoor communicator with his commitment to craft and by celebrating our sporting lifestyle and ideals, and Ron Spomer has met that standard using traditional and new ways of communicating about hunting, shooting, and the outdoors,” said NSSF President Steve Sanetti. “He is most deserving of this award, and he joins a select group of honored media members who have earned the iconic Grits ‘Hat.’ We congratulate Ron wholeheartedly for his many achievements.”
Spomer is one of a subset of outdoor writers that have not only experimented with multimedia technology, but embraced and excelled at it. His YouTube page has more than 7,000 subscribers and has garnered nearly 3.5 million views. His photography is second to none and his writing is of the highest caliber.
Of Ron’s many accomplishments and innovations in the world of outdoor media, his new mobile app is among the greatest. The “Everything Whitetail App” is just that: The mobile application allows hunters to record stand locations, dates, times, weather conditions, and more. A couple taps capture the moon phase, barometric pressure, wind speed, and other information from time spent in the stand.
Not only that, but 300 unique pages of content provide an encyclopedia’s worth of knowledge on “The Deer,” “The Hunt,” and “The Gear” hunters are interested in. In short, its Everything Whitetail.
“I’ve known Ron Spomer for many years,” said Tom Gresham, son of Grits Gresham and a past recipient of the award. “Not only is he a skilled hunter, but Ron is a top communicator through his writing and photography, and he also has forged into various media, from print to television, online, and even smartphone apps. Ron is a great example of someone who connects with an audience when talking about guns, shooting, and hunting.”
We at Sporting Classics and Sporting Classics Daily congratulate Ron on his award and thank him for all he’s done to make the magazine a success. We look forward to all of his great content still to come!
To have Ron’s columns and articles delivered directly to your home eight times a year, subscribe to Sporting Classics today! If you’re like Ron and love outdoor content via new and novel outlets, subscribe to Sporting Classics‘ digital edition — all the great writing and photography of Sporting Classics on your digital device.
Be sure to visit Ron’s YouTube page and check out the Everything Whitetail App today!