Westerville, Ohio — Ron Johnston of the Marietta Times is the recipient of the 2026 Bill Nichols Media Award. The Bill Nichols Award was created to recognize a member of the media who has demonstrated an understanding and passion for amateur athletics, while covering the students and programs of NCAA Division III and the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC). For more than 30 years, Bill Nichols worked at the Cleveland Plain Dealer. He served as an adjunct lecturer at Baldwin-Wallace University and John Carroll University, as well as several other institutions.

From 1988 until his retirement in 2020, Johnston covered Marietta College sports for 32 years, writing for both The Marietta Times and the Parkersburg News & Sentinel. Johnston covered the Pioneers during their runs at the NCAA Division III Baseball World Series in Appleton, Wisconsin, in both 2006 and 2007. His feature stories include memorable profiles on Pioneer soccer standout Taylor Reasoner, football star Kenny Sasu, and the historic retirement of legendary Marietta College baseball coach Don Schaly.

Johnston’s career is decorated with numerous accolades, including being named the Associated Press (AP) Best Sports Columnist three times. He was also honored as the Soccer Sportswriter of the Year in West Virginia in both 1995 and 2005. Outside of the press box, his athletic contributions earned him inductions into both the Mid-Ohio Valley Softball Hall of Fame and the Southeastern Ohio Slo-Pitch Softball Hall of Fame.

His love for sports began on the field. Johnston is a 1970 graduate of Heidelberg University, where he earned a B.A. in Political Science/History and was a four-year letter winner for the Student Princes soccer team.

Johnston began his journalism career as a stringer for The Marietta Times in the fall of 1988, advancing to a full-time role with the Parkersburg News & Sentinel in 1992. In February 2007, he returned to The Marietta Times as sports editor and writer, a position he held until his retirement in August 2020.

In 2020, he became a published author with his first book, One-Game Wonder. His second book, tentatively titled Berg Boy: The Life and Times of a Student Prince, will reflect on his formative years at Heidelberg.