After 30 years, the Georgia Outdoor Writers Association (GOWA) returned to Milledgeville April 18-21 to host its annual spring conference.
According to its website, GOWA is an organization of professional journalists, editors, photographers and television personalities that cover hunting, fishing and conservation in Georgia. Its annual spring conference presents internal awards and recognizes outdoor writers across the state. It is held in a different city in Georgia each year that is chosen by the organization’s board of directors.
The conference has not been held in Milledgeville since 1994. According to GOWA Vice President Ron Brooks, the board of directors chose Milledgeville as the location this year for its rich history and connections to one of their members, Susan Lindsley.
Lindsley is a Milledgeville native, author and has been active in wildlife conservation for about 40 years. She often writes about her Yesterplace, which Lindsley defined as “the land where I grew up … and also the land today, where I watch the wildlife and write” during a 2022 interview with The Baldwin Bulletin. Lindsley served as the keynote speaker during Thursday's meet-and-greet at the Hampton Inn, where she gave insight on her life in Milledgeville and the city’s history.
“Don’t think I’m from Milledgeville, because my only connection with Milledgeville is that I was born in a hospital in the city limits, the rest of my life has been in the woods. I grew up in the country,” said Lindsley.
During her address, Lindlsey spoke about the founding of Milledgeville and the importance of figures such as Charles Herty, who designed the cup that collected turpentine from the pines without killing them, and Carl Vinson, who served in the House of Representatives. She also touched on the history of Central State Hospital and its role as an insane asylum.
“I sometimes wonder how much knowledge of Milledgeville that people have. Washington D.C. was laid out formally, and Milledgeville is the only other capital in the United States that was designed and laid out to be a capital. The original area was called Sweetwater,” said Lindsley.
“One of the finest people born in Milledgeville was Charles Herty … There’s a monument to him in front of the courthouse,” Lindsley added as she dived into the historic figures in town.
Lindlsey also briefly touched on her relationship with novelists Margaret Mitchell ( Gone with the Wind) and Flannery O’Connor. According to Lindsley, her aunt, Susan Myrick, was close friends with Mitchell and was featured in many of her works. Lindlsey stated her mother and Flannery’s mother,Regina O’Connor, grew up three houses apart and were childhood friends.
“I choke up when I start thinking about it (her relationship with the O’Connors). We were close family friends except when it came to our fence line,” joked Lindsley.
Lindsley concluded her address by reading her poem, The Golden Years. However, Lindsley hosted more conference activities throughout the weekend. The writers spent time building bonds by completing a historic tour of Milledgeville and enjoying the outdoors of Baldwin County by fishing and hunting on Lindlsey’s land.
“When I first joined (GOWA) in 1989, the big thing was the contacts you made, the interaction, and I think that’s one thing the younger generation doesn't experience always being online. It’s that interplay between making those contacts that keep paying off for years and years,” said Jimmy Jacobs, GOWA member of the board of directors.
In addition to these activities, GOWA also hosted its primary fundraiser, the outdoor gear auction, on Friday and the awards banquet on Saturday at Taylor’s Cove. Brooks stated about 40 members were registered for the awards banquet, which is about the average number for each year.
Members competed in 12 categories for Excellence in Craft awards from the media they produced during the previous year. Each member was allowed to submit up to two entries per category.
In addition, recognition awards were presented for the Big Deer Contest winners from across the state. Winners receive deer mounts. The Big Deer contest recognizes the hunters harvesting deer scoring the highest point count in both typical and atypical categories for both the Boone and Crocket Award (taken with a firearm) and the Pope and Young Award (taken with a bow). The Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Georgia Outdoor News magazine, and the Georgia Outdoor Writers all sponsored the contest.
“Milledgeville is a location with rich history and many connections. We were happy to return to the city and allow newer members to experience it,” said Brooks. “They (outdoors writing associations) used to be all over the South and a lot of them have folded simply because they couldn’t draw people in. But, we’re still here and we’re strong and we’re doing well.”
Brooks stressed the importance of offering events such as the spring conference to promote fellowship between GOWA members and local communities. To learn more about GOWA, please visit https://gaoutdoorwriters. com/home/.