Awards

Lifetime Achievement Awards

FOWA Lifetime achievement award 2021 — Sandra and her Lifetime Achievement Award from the Florida Outdoor Writers Association

Florida Outdoor Writers Association Hardy Bryan Lifetime Achievement Award (2021)
In Recognition of Performance and Outstanding Service to the Outdoor Field.

Sierra Club Florida Indigo Award (2020)
This award is for a writer/journalist who provides balanced reports on Florida’s environmental issues. The recipient may have developed a series of articles, a book, or a script around a specific issue impacting the environment or environmental policy or have consistently provided a voice for the environment of Florida.

Florida Trail Association Lifetime Achievement Award (2018)
At the Florida Trail Association Annual Meeting on April 7, 2018 in Gainesville, Florida, longtime FTA volunteer, author, and trail expert Sandra Friend was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Established in 2005, it is one of three major awards granted Florida Trail Association volunteers for their outstanding contributions to the Association and to the Florida Trail.

Books

Florida Outdoor Writers Association Excellence in Craft Awards
First Place
Florida Trail Hikes, Second Edition* (2022)
Florida Trail Hikes* (2021)
The Florida Trail: Florida’s National Scenic Trail* (2017)
The Florida Trail Guide, Second Edition* (2016)
Along the Florida Trail (2004)

Second Place
The Florida Trail Guide, Fourth Edition* (2022)
Discovering the Florida Trail* (2021)
The Florida Trail Guide, Third Edition* (2018)
Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail* (2016)
Five Star Trails Gainesville & Ocala* (2015)
The Florida Trail Guide* (2014)
Explorer’s Guide: North Florida & The Panhandle, Second Edition* (2013)
Hiker’s Guide to the Sunshine State (2006)
50 Hikes in South Florida (2004)
Sinkholes (2003)

Third Place
South Florida: An Explorer’s Guide (2011)
Exploring Florida’s Botanical Wonders (2010)
The Hiking Trails of Florida’s National Forests, Parks, and Preserves (2008)
The Florida Trail, The Official Hiking Guide (2005)
50 Hikes in Central Florida (2003)

National Science Teachers Association / Childrens Book Council
Outstanding Science Trade Book, students K-12: Earth’s Fiery Fury (2001)

Outdoor Writers Association of America National Outdoor Book Awards
Along the Florida Trail (Second Place, 2005)

Society of American Travel Writers Eastern Chapter Awards
Explorer’s Guide: North Florida & The Panhandle, Third Edition* (First Place, 2019)
50 Hikes in Central Florida, Third Edition* (Second Place, 2019)
Florida Trail Hikes* (Honorable Mention, 2020)

See all of my published books by title or in a list with ISBN numbers in my bibliography.

Websites

American Trails
Best Website, Trails and Tourism: Florida Hikes (2007)
Best Website, Trail Organization: Florida Trail Association (2005)

Florida Outdoor Writers Association Excellence in Craft Awards
Florida Hikes* First Place: 2022, 2021, 2018, 2015.
Second Place: 2016, 2006; Third Place: 2017, 2014, 2013, 2009.

Florida Trail Association (replaced since): First Place, 2005; Third Place, 2006.
Ocala National Forest (Second Place, 2011) (replaced since)
Candid Travels (Second Place, 2008) (defunct)

Society of American Travel Writers Eastern Chapter Writing Awards
Best collaborative blog: Buckettripper.com (2013) (defunct)

Apps and Special Communications

Florida Outdoor Writers Association Excellence in Craft Awards
First Place: The Footprint (2006)

Second Place
Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail* (2022)
Jackson County Visitor’s Guide (2013)
Florida State Parks (Sutro Media) (2011)
Exploring the Florida Trail (2006)

Third Place
Florida Trail Association Media Outreach CD (2005)
Florida National Scenic Trail brochure (2003)

Photography

Society of American Travel Writers Bill Muster Photo Competition
Silver Award, Action: Kayakers and Manatees at Silver Springs (2017)

Florida Outdoor Writers Association Excellence in Craft Awards
Second Place, Overall: Airboating at Billie Swamp Safari (2011)

Society of American Travel Writers Eastern Chapter Awards
Second Place, Humor: Orlando For The Birds (2009)
Honorable Mention, Action: Launch of Expedition Headwaters (2009)

Articles

Florida Outdoor Writers Association Excellence in Craft Awards
First Place
Blog: Foraging for Mushrooms in Oregon (2018)
Magazine: A Pony Tale, AAA Tidewater Traveler (2017)
Magazine: Immersed in Nature, Filmmaker Elam Stoltzfus Captures Florida’s Soul, VIRES (2013)

Second Place
Travel Destination: Gulf State Park* (2020)
Conservation: A Sandhill Crane Success Story (2015)
Travel Destination: Circling Lake Okeechobee (2013)

Third Place
Blog: Backpacker Tips for Hurricane Prep (2018)
Travel Destination: Nature and Nostalgia at Camp Chowenwaw Park
Travel Destination: Spirit of Pennekamp (2016)
Blog: Tubing the Ichetucknee (2016)
Travel Destination: Touring Goodwood Museum in Tallahassee (2014)
Travel, Non-Florida: Take a Load Off: Hospitality in Hot Springs, NC*, Appalachian Trail Journal
Family Participation: Backpacking Myakka (2004)

Outdoor Writers Association of America Excellence in Craft Awards
First Place
Blog: Backpacker Tips for Hurricane Prep (2018)

Society of American Travel Writers Eastern Chapter Writing Awards
First Place
Humor: Spacefrog in the Lobster Pot (2016)
Consumer-Oriented Travel Article: Exploring the St. Johns River in Florida by Houseboat (2013)

Second Place
Blog series: The Year of Apollo (2020)
U.S. Travel: Michigan’s Keweenaw: Mines, Mountains, and Moose, Pilot Getaways (2008)

Third Place
Blog: A Walk with Angus Gholson (2008)

* honors shared with my husband and writing partner, John Keatley

Other Recognition

Florida Trail Association Pathfinder Award, 2019

Presented to a member of the media who has promoted the goals and objectives of the Florida Trail Association and has highlighted the health benefits of backpacking, hiking or walking.

Florida Trail Association Cornelia Burge Volunteer Service Award, 2003

Recipient for redesigning the organizational newsletter, The Footprint, into a color magazine format, involving hundreds of hours of volunteer time over many months. This award is presented at the FTA President’s discretion to an FTA member who has made extraordinary progress toward meeting the purposes and objectives of the FTA on a statewide basis. This award is considered the highest recognition for an FTA Member/Volunteer, and as such, this is limited to one recipient annually.