I've been sweating over the November Footer of the Month for some time now.  Mainly because we are close to the end of the year and with only two months left I didn't want to just throw anyone at it.  It's getting harder and harder to find new Footers of the Month.  If you look back through the history of the BFC FOM (Click Here), you'll find a long list of footers dating back to 1999.  Some great stories about footers from all over the world.

I've always been amazed about two things when it comes to the Footer of the Month.  First, I am always amazed by how many people read and know about the FOM and how much the person selected for the honor appreciates it.  Anyone who has been a BFC FOM or Footer of the Year makes sure to mention it to me and tell me about how many calls they received from their friends about it.  I am always excited to see how much it means to people to be recognized by their peers.  Recognition is a good thing. 

The second thing that always amazes me is how few nominees we get.  Every year, there are several months where we get no nominees.  Now if you think of all the people around the entire world that read and enjoy the FOM, you'd think that we'd be flooded with nominees each month.  You don't have to be a world class footer by any means.  You just have to show a joy for the sport and be fortunate enough to have a friend that takes a few minutes to write an email to us about why they think you deserve a little recognition.  Maybe too many of us are just too busy, or maybe we're not interested enough to write an email about someone else when no one has written anything about us.  Who knows?  All I know is that I hear about great accomplishments all the time.  But I can't be everywhere.  I need input from you, the footers, to bring us the stories about the footers you interact with.

I'll get off my soapbox now and get back to the reason for my nominee of Scott Atkinson.

When I have to nominate a footer myself, I rack my brains for days because I don't want to nominate someone I've already nominated in the past, and it's getting harder and harder to find new skiers that I interact with.  Chalk it up to my limited social interaction I guess.

This month I sat back and asked myself who has done something noteworthy or special in my opinion.  I was drawing blanks until I received my November/December issue of The Water Skier.

On the cover was none other than Keith St. Onge, the new World Overall Barefoot Champion.  A BIG Congrats to Keith!.  I then open up the magazine and find a two page article by Scott Atkinson on Keith's performance at the Worlds, an article on the Blairfoot Endurance Championship by Natalie Angley, and then a whopping 4 page article on the Barefoot World Championships, written by Scott.  Plenty of barefoot to read this month.

Click Here to read article on Keith

Click Here to read article on Worlds

As Editor of the magazine, Scott has the final word on what gets to go into the magazine every month.  He decides on what events they plan to cover, who's going to cover them, who gets the cover shot, etc etc...  The editor of a magazine is the Big Cheese, the one calling the shots, The Man.

I started BarefootCental.com in 1998 because I saw a steady decline in barefoot coverage in both Waterski Mag and The WaterSkier.  And the coverage I did see seemed as though it was being written by someone who knew nothing about the sport.  But over the last 3 years, I've watched as Scott has transformed the Water Skier into a publication that seems to strive to give all the water sports equal coverage throughout the year, and has gone beyond expectations on covering barefoot events such as the US Nationals, Worlds, and Figure 8.  But just writing a story isn't the only thing that has impressed me.  A story alone doesn't always cut it.  The big question is whether or not it does the sport justice, lists facts and stats appropriately, and entertains the reader leaving them more interested in the sport than they were before reading the story. 

I've never met Scott, but I read his articles every month, and I critique every inch of his magazine.  You see, I've worked in the printing industry for over 20 years for the world's largest printing company "RR Donnelley".  So I know what it takes from start to finish to put together a successful magazine.  I know the time it takes to put it together month after month, the cost to print it, and the costs to get it to your doorstep.  I see hundreds of magazine layouts every month and interact with some of the top publishers in the country.  So I tend to be a tough critique.  I've seen the Waterskier make both subtle and radical changes in the past 2-3 years transforming it from a magazine that was several steps below Waterski Magazine, to one that can hang right with them on layout, and blows them away when it comes to complete coverage of all watersport events.  The photos are incredible, and the content of the articles has improved dramatically.  It's not perfect, but nothing ever is.  There are still times when I wished he had called me and asked if the photo they were about to put in the magazine was cool, or relevant, but I'm sure people ask the same thing about my stuff. 

So, to make a long story short, I'm not nominating Scott for November 2006 Footer of the Month NOT because of his footing skills.  I'm nominating him because I'm impressed with the work he has been doing, I'm impressed with the team he has organized around him to help bring all the great stories to us, and I'm grateful that he has made a conscious effort to keep barefoot waterskiing as a major part of The Waterskier each year.  A job well done, and one that has touched thousands of barefooters around the country each year.

Congratulations Scott!  Keep up the great work!  You're now a member of a select group of BFC Footer of the Month nominees and are now eligible to be voted the 2006 Footer of the Year.  Voting will be in January, so you have plenty of time to get the word out.

Chuck Gleason
owner - BarefootCentral.com, Eagle Sports, WearHaus Sports Apparel

Check out the other Footer's Of the Month