Red Smith award: Nominations open Jan. 21

The selection process for the 2013 Red Smith award will kick off Jan. 21.

Eligible voters include past presidents, previous Red Smith winners, national officers, active members who have belonged to APSE for at least 10 years and alumni members who belonged to APSE for at least 15 years.

Each news organization is limited to a single vote. If there are several members eligible at a given organization, the senior editor will vote, just as he or she does now for national office. Past presidents and Red Smith winners retain their vote and are not included in the limit of one per organization.

Award nominations may be made by any member eligible to vote for the award as well as region chairs.

The Red Smith award is given annually to a person who has made major contributions to sports journalism. Frank Deford was the 2012 winner. As the five top vote-getters from last year, Henry Freeman, Dan Jenkins, Bob Ryan, George Vecsey and Mark Whicker will automatically be on the ballot for 2013.

Here are the milestones for the 2013 award process:

• Jan. 21 – Nominations open. Eligible voters and region chairs will receive an email seeking nominations. Nominations should be sent to Bob Yates (byates@dallasnews.com) and should include a brief biography of the candidate.
• Feb. 18 – Nominations close.
• Feb. 25 – Eligible voters receive an email ballot.
• March 11 – Deadline for ballots to be returned.
• March 14 – 2013 Red Smith winner announced.

Here is a list of eligible voters, not including past presidents or Red Smith award winners. If you think you have been included or omitted by mistake, please contact APSE Executive Director Jack Berninger at jackapse@aol.com by Jan. 10.