Woody Woodburn is a national award-winning journalist whose work has appeared in The Best American Sports Writing anthology, The Sporting News, and more than a dozen Chicken Soup For The Soul editions. Woodburn, 53, was been a sports columnist for more than two decades in Southern California with The Ventura County Star and then The Daily Breeze in Torrance; he is now back with The Ventura County Star as a general interest essayist. National recognition for his newspaper work includes First Place for Column Writing by the Associated Press News Executive Council; Column Writing by the Associated Press Sports Editors; E.W. Scripps Newspapers "Columnist of the Year" and Copley News Service's "Columnist of the Year," and the James S. Copley "Ring of Truth" award. In 2003, Woodburn was inducted into the Jim Murray Memorial Foundation's Journalists Hall of Fame. He also co-authored Raising Your Child To Be A Champion In Athletics, Arts and Academics (Kensington Publishing/Citadel Press, 2004) with nationally renowned speaker and coach Wayne Bryan. Woody resides in Ventura with his wife, Lisa; the couple has two adult children.