Ashley Hlebinsky, curator for the Cody Firearms Museum of the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, has been awarded the annual Grits Gresham Shooting Sports Communicator Award for 2017 by the Professional Outdoor Media Association’s (POMA) and the National Shooting Sports Foundation’s (NSSF) .
Hlebinsky accepted the award at the SHOT Show 2017 State of the Industry Dinner.
This prestigious honor recognizes extraordinary achievements in communications in the areas of responsible firearms use, hunting, and the shooting sports.
Kevin L Orthman, Executive Director of POMA said, “The entire POMA organization is excited to honor Ashley for her contribution as a firearms communicator, historian, and expert analyst in the media. She also will proudly add her own piece of history as the first female to receive this prestigious award. The Grits Gresham Award is one of the highest awards POMA gives out each year, and Ashley is a great example of someone who has spent her career changing the face of firearms in the media, and preserving the history and legacies of some of the greatest firearms in the world.”
POMA and the NSSF developed the Grits Gresham Shooting Sports Communicator Award in 2005, when NSSF honored Gresham with a lifetime achievement award.
The award recognizes communicators within the firearms arena who grasp the ideals, foster the commitment, and display the talent Grits Gresham exhibited during his storied career.
“From Ashley’s first stint as a Research Fellow here at the Center of the West, we knew we had the ideal representative for our Cody Firearms Museum,” Bruce Eldredge, the Center’s Executive Director and CEO explained. “Now, as curator, her knowledge of firearms and the firearms industry is extraordinary, as well as her command of the delicate issues surrounding firearms use in our country. Ashley continues to foster relationships throughout the museum world, the Cody area, and the firearms industry. We heartily congratulate Ashley on this award and the POMA for recognizing her remarkable contribution.”
She also is a freelance writer and has appeared on both national and international television networks.
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