Five journalists recently were inducted into the Indiana Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association’s 20th Hall of Fame class.
The inductees are Bill Beck of The Elkhart Truth, Bob Jenkins of ESPN and the IMS Radio Network, Mark Morrow of The Indianapolis Star and News and now the Noblesville Times, Blake Sebring of the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel and Jason Whitlock of ESPN, according to the association.
Beck is in his 26th year with The Elkhart Truth, having served as the newspaper’s sports editor since 1999. He joined the staff at his hometown paper as a correspondent in 1980 and has been a fixture in Michiana sporting events since.
Jenkins of Liberty, Indiana, was one of the first broadcasters hired at ESPN. He spent 27 years broadcasting all forms of auto racing for the network. He also has been the voice of the Indianapolis 500, Brickyard 400 and U.S. Grand Prix on television.
Morrow has spent 52 years in Indiana media, currently working as executive sports editor and columnist for the Noblesville Times. Twenty-five of those years were spent with The Indianapolis News and The Indianapolis Star, where he coordinated high school coverage and served as the Pacers’ beat writer, among other positions. Morrow worked for the Kokomo Tribune and the Michigan City News-Dispatch earlier in his career.
Sebring joined the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel staff as a 15-year-old clerk in 1980 and has been full-time with the News-Sentinel since 1988. He is currently the newspaper’s assistant sports editor and covers the Fort Wayne Komets. Sebring has also written seven books.
Whitlock is one of the nation’s premier sports columnists, currently writing for ESPN. His work with the Kansas City Star, ESPN and other outlets has boldly addressed sensitive subjects in sports. He is a native of Indianapolis and a graduate of Ball State University.
The Indiana Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association recognized three others as annual award winners.
Bob “Slick” Leonard was awarded the Distinguished Service Award in honor of his 30 years broadcasting the Indiana Pacers.
Greg Rakestraw of WFNI-Indianapolis was named the Marv Bates Indiana Sportscaster of the Year.
Bob Kravitz of WTHR-Indianapolis was honored as the Corky Lamm Indiana Sportswriter of the Year.
