Alabama Crimson Tide On SI/BamaCentral Celebrates Being Part of Two Historic ASWA Achievements
One made history, and then the other followed suit.
Sunday, as the Alabama Sports Writers Association distributed its final honors for the 2025-26 academic year while holding its 54th annual annual convention and awards banquet, the organization saw two unprecedented firsts, both involving journalists from Alabama Crimson Tide on SI/BamaCentral.
Katie Windham, who had served as vice-president over the last two years, was handed the reins and became the first female president in the history of the organization. She's the 27th journalist to hold the position since 1974.
Meanwhile, Christopher Walsh won the ASWA's highest annual writing honor, the Herby Kirby Memorial Award for story of the year. He's the first four-time winner.
"I was shocked and incredibly humbled," Walsh said. "You look at the names of the other winners, many of the biggest journalism names in this state, and to be the first four-time winner ... there just aren't adequate words to describe how grateful I am."
Walsh had previously won the award 2006, 2014 and 2020. It's the second time he's won the honor since founding BamaCentral in 2018.
Meanwhile, former AL.com journalist Josh Beam was presented with induction into the ASWA Hall of Honor, which was established to recognize individuals connected to our state for their contributions to the ASWA and sports community.
Randy Kennedy, a previous winner of the Mel Allen Award from the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame and named one of the ASWA's 50 Legends, was honored with the Bill Shelton Award. Named after the late Cullman Times sports editor, it recognizes a writer's contributions to his newspaper, the industry and the community. Kennedy was also elected vice-president of the organization.
AL.com led all media outlets with seven awards in the annual writing contest, Alabama Crimson Tide On SI/BamaCentral took home six, and the Shelby County Reporter won four.
The Herby Kirby Award is given in memory of the longtime Birmingham Post Herald sports writer who died in the press box covering Notre Dame's 24-23 national championship win over Alabama in the 1973 Sugar Bowl. Only the first-place submissions in the other categories of the writing contest are considered for the story of the year honor.
Alabama Crimson Tide On SI/BamaCentral is the online home of the Alabama Sports Writers Association.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/alabama as Alabama Crimson Tide On SI/BamaCentral Celebrates Being Part of Two Historic ASWA Achievements.
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This story was originally published June 16, 2026 at 2:00 AM.