Grits Gresham’s son, Tom Gresham, host of Gun Talk Radio and a previous recipient, presented Zumbo with the award during the Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade ShowSM (SHOT Show®) State of the Industry dinner.

Gresham praised Zumbo’s superlative 40-year communications career and his intellectual honesty in handling a personal and industry firestorm.

“I know the selection of Jim Zumbo might surprise some because of a controversy he set off while working for Outdoor Life,” Gresham said. “But I’m pleased, the award committee, made up of the past recipients and POMA and NSSF representatives, looked at Jim’s entire body of work, as well as his part in awakening hunters to the need to support gun rights and all gun owners, when they voted for Jim in early autumn of 2013.
“After a lifetime of writing magazine articles and books, hosting Jim Zumbo Outdoors, and lecturing about hunting and hunting guns, Jim almost had his great body of work erased by a single mistake, which, in fact, may have done more to educate hunters than everything else he has done.

“After questioning the use of AR-style guns in the realm of hunting in an Outdoor Life blog entry, Jim heard the cries of gun owners. He immediately educated himself about modern sporting rifles and became a proponent of them. That speaks well of his intellectual honesty.”

via Zumbo Recipient of Grits Gresham Shooting Sports Communicator Award : The Outdoor Wire.

Tom emailed me the news and his commentary: “went to a guy with 50 years in the industry ….and started taking vets hunting..on his own dime..long before HAVA or Wounded Warrior.”

I am still a bit put off for what Zumbo did, but he did atone and did not go on being stupid. So, if the NSSF (and more important, Tom Gresham) thinks he deserves it, I can live with it.

In other news, Dick Metcalf continues to step on his first name.