When Roy Hewitt joined APSE in 1981, he didn’t know how much the organization would change him.
Through 28 conferences from Tarpon Springs, Fla. to Boston, Hewitt sat through hundreds of sessions and meetings, but he also grew as a sports editor.
“Over the years, I learned not only the resource that APSE is and that you can get counsel and help from sports editors across the country and that you can build friendships – but I learned even more that the best part was giving back through APSE and helping others,” Hewitt said from his office at the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
But what Hewitt didn’t realize is he changed APSE.
Hewitt was chair of the APSE Olympic Committee for more than a dozen years. In that time, the committee led an effort to expand the opportunity for all sized papers to get credentials to the Olympics.
With Hewitt’s retirement looming early next year, the APSE honored Hewitt and his contribution by naming one of the four APSE scholarships given annually to college recipients after him.
The only other APSE college scholarship named after a sports editor is one in honor of Tim Wheatley, a former sports editor who was killed in a traffic accident in Oct. 2009 . APSE decided to honor Wheatley with naming the scholarship after him in February.
“I can’t think of anyone more deserving than Roy for a scholarship named in his honor as a result of years of his contribution to APSE,” APSE President Michael Anastasi said.
Hewitt, who has been in the newspaper business since 1969 and sports since 1980, called the scholarship a surprise, an honor and humbling.
“There’s a real possibility that someone will go into our profession, helped along because of a scholarship that was named after me,” Hewitt said. “We want people to be in our profession. We’re proud of our profession and if someone gets a little help along the way and it’s attached to my name, that's very special to me."
“Over the years, I learned not only the resource that APSE is and that you can get counsel and help from sports editors across the country and that you can build friendships – but I learned even more that the best part was giving back through APSE and helping others,” Hewitt said from his office at the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
But what Hewitt didn’t realize is he changed APSE.
Hewitt was chair of the APSE Olympic Committee for more than a dozen years. In that time, the committee led an effort to expand the opportunity for all sized papers to get credentials to the Olympics.
With Hewitt’s retirement looming early next year, the APSE honored Hewitt and his contribution by naming one of the four APSE scholarships given annually to college recipients after him.
The only other APSE college scholarship named after a sports editor is one in honor of Tim Wheatley, a former sports editor who was killed in a traffic accident in Oct. 2009 . APSE decided to honor Wheatley with naming the scholarship after him in February.
“I can’t think of anyone more deserving than Roy for a scholarship named in his honor as a result of years of his contribution to APSE,” APSE President Michael Anastasi said.
Hewitt, who has been in the newspaper business since 1969 and sports since 1980, called the scholarship a surprise, an honor and humbling.
“There’s a real possibility that someone will go into our profession, helped along because of a scholarship that was named after me,” Hewitt said. “We want people to be in our profession. We’re proud of our profession and if someone gets a little help along the way and it’s attached to my name, that's very special to me."
Stephanie Kuzydym is a senior at Indiana University and an intern at the Orlando Sentinel.
