I have won a handful of awards over the years, which hang from my office walls like framed monuments to potential and vanity. As a young sports reporter, I was given the Cornell University Media Award, mostly because I was just about the only guy who covered Cornell sports. But it’s a nice plaque. I also won something called a “Best of Gannett” award for a series of stories I produced about the debate over Native American nicknames in sports. That was from the Gannett Corporation, based in Washington, D.C., where the Redskins play. I believe they call that irony.

From the beginning, I have enjoyed freelancing for Cornell Alumni Magazine, which has been honored as the nation’s finest college alumni publication. A few of my features for CAM have earned me recognition from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). In 1999, a story I wrote called “Searching for 4.3” (a tongue-in-cheek pursuit of the perfect student) was awarded a Grand Gold Medal as best article of the year. Of course, I never actually received a gold medal… let alone a grand.

Also in 1999, publisher John F. Blair submitted my first travel narrative, States of Mind, for consideration for a Pulitzer Prize, which sounds impressive until I discovered that you can nominate a grocery list for a Pulitzer. However, it did win an IPPY Award as one of the ten outstanding books of the year, as chosen by Independent Publisher magazine. Specifically, it won for “Best Concept,” which is a bit like winning an Academy Award for “Best Costume.” But I’ll take it.

Speaking of the movies, I co-wrote (with L.A.-based producer/director Brian Adler) one full-length feature film script, a clever comedy called Spin Art in which Hollywood’s bottom-feeders stick it to the movie moguls. It was a finalist in the Monterey County Film Commission Screenwriting Contest and got some buzz in the biz. Then deafening silence. Then, in 2003, a movie – “New Suit” – came out with an eerily similar premise and story. Welcome to Hollywood.