Oklahoma Youth Outdoor Writing Contest Winners Take National Honors For Excellence 

Two Oklahoma teenagers were recognized recently for placing high among their peers in a nationwide youth outdoor writing contest.

Steven Maichak
   Steven Maichak

Steven Maichak of Edmond took third place in the senior prose division (grades 9-12) of the Norm Strung National Youth Writing Competition, and Raini Stiles of Collinsville took first place in the junior prose division (grades 6-8). Both received national recognition and cash rewards.

Maichak and Stiles were entered in the national writing contest as part of their reward for winning a local outdoor writing contest sponsored by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation and the Oklahoma Station Chapter of Safari Club International. Contestants in the annual statewide youth outdoor writing contest pick from two essay topics — “Hunting: Sharing the Heritage” or “What I like about Archery in the Schools and Bowhunting — giving them a chance to share their outdoor heritage with others. The winning essays of the state contest are then entered into Norm Strung Youth Writing Competition. Additionally, winners in the state’s senior division receive an all-expenses-paid antelope hunt in New Mexico, and junior division winners receive a scholarship to the YO Ranch Apprentice Hunter Program in Texas. The scholarship to the YO Ranch Apprentice Hunter Program and expenses for the antelope hunts are covered by the Oklahoma Station Chapter of Safari Club International with funds raised at the Chapter’s annual banquet.

Raini Stiles
   Raini Stiles

The youth writing competition is designed to promote America’s hunting heritage among Oklahoma’s youth. It provides them an opportunity to express the importance of hunting in their lives and to affirm their commitment to carrying on the hunting tradition. Students use the essays or short stories to relive memorable hunts, to explain why hunting is important to them and to recognize mentors who have influenced them to grow as hunters.

The Wildlife Department and the Oklahoma Station Chapter of Safari Club International submit the winning essays to the Norm Strung National Youth Writing Competition, held annually by the Outdoor Writers Association of America.

To learn about how to compete in the state’s youth outdoor writing contest and become eligible for the Norm Strung writing contest, log on to wildlifedepartment.com.