SECTION FOUR
AGLOW PAST PRESIDENT, JIM ZALESKI, RECEIVES HONOR
FROM KANSAS WILDLIFE FEDERATION
PRESS BRIEFINGS 3
The Kansas Wildlife Federation recently recognized
several individuals with their annual Conservation
Awards in a ceremony held at Acorns Resort on
Milford Lake, Kansas. AGLOW two-term past
president and current Board member Jim Zaleski was
recognized as the Conservation Communicator of
the Year for his work in promoting the outdoors in
Southeast Kansas and throughout the State.
He was nominated for the award by long time Kansas
City Star outdoor writer Brent Frazee. Zaleski is a 23
year veteran of the tourism industry and has held the
CVB director position in Labette County, Kansas for
almost 10 years. He has worked in other CVB’s where
he has promoted the outdoors from the Chicagoland
Lake Michigan Shores to the shores of New Jersey
and Florida before settling in the Ozark foothills of
Southeast Kansas.
Zaleski was recognized for a combination of
achievements including working with the outdoor
media, his Southeast Kansas radio show and his two-
term tenure as president the Association of Great Lakes
Outdoor Writers (AGLOW). While at the tourism
helm in Labette County he has partnered with Kansas
Wildscapes to host a Governor’s Fishing Open, hosted
two meetings of the Outdoor Writers of Kansas and
welcomed more than twenty AGLOW members for the
2015 “Cast & Blast.”
During his remarks after receiving the award Zaleski
was humbled by the recognition, “It is an honor to
even have my name whispered along with such icons
of the industry as Brent Frazee and Thayne Smith,”
both past award recipients. “As conservationists and
communicators everyone in this industry has one
simple goal and that is to introduce the outdoors to our
children and grandchildren in the same manner as it
was introduced to us by our fathers and grandfathers,”
he concluded.
As an active media personality he has hosted two
outdoor based radio shows, “Fishing the Four States”
that had a three year run out of Pittsburg, Kansas and
the award winning “Catch of the Week” broadcast from
the KLKC studios in Parsons. “Catch of the Week” was
recognized as best of radio fishing division two separate
times in the AGLOW Awards in Craft Competition
and was awarded the “Best of Show” for all media in
2012 for a segment dealing with the need for senior
fishing licenses and their relation to federal excise tax
distribution.
“Working with the media has been a big part of our
marketing strategy, partnering with groups such as
AGLOW and state level outdoor writer organizations
should be a part of every tourism bureaus’ strategy,”
Zaleski said. In reference to the award he was quick
to defer the honor to those that helped coordinate
the events. “This just couldn’t be done without the
dedication to the community of local landowners,
volunteers and the involvement of the Kansas
Department of Wildlife Parks & Tourism,” he added.
Zaleski began serving on the board of directors for
AGLOW in 2010 and was elected president of the
organization in 2015 before being asked by the board to
serve a second term in 2016. He has earned the Certified
Destination Marketing Executive (CDME) designation
from Destination Marketing Association International
and is one of 22 tourism leaders worldwide that also
holds the organization’s fellowship designation.
Volume 01 No. 02 | 2017