The AHP Champion Award was presented to Warren Wilson on June 21, 2014 at the AHP Gallop n' Grits Seminar in Charleston, South Carolina.

2. What makes an AHP Champion?
 Dedication
 Service
 A passion for publishing
 A sense of humor
The 2014 honoree
has them all.

3. Warren Wilson
2000-2001 AHP President

4. Who is Warren Wilson?
Warren is Publisher of California Horsetrader, a twice-monthly,
all-breed regional magazine that he purchased as a newsprint
“shopper” in 1990, the year he joined AHP.
His 25 years in equine publishing have provided technical
innovations that bridge the transition from fiber to cyber. In
addition to founding horsetrader.com in 1997, Warren has led
the development of solutions for online delivery of content as
well as for web-based publishing business systems.
Today, 15 AHP member magazines, websites and
corporate members use technology his team
developed in the last decade.

5. Warren became the
2000-2001 AHP
President after his
tenure on the
Board of Directors that
began in 1995. Next
year will mark his 25th
year as an AHP member.
His AHP Legacy

6. What he is best known for:
Warren has led or participated in numerous AHP
workshops and panels on wide-ranging topics
including editorial management, technology, and
business development.
He started the AHP
Small But Mighty
seminars for publishers
of smaller titles in 2001.
Small But Mighty
meetings continue
today.

7. Warren’s publishing career
began in newspapers. He was
editor of his hometown weekly,
the San Marcos Courier, at age
20.
He moved on to a San Diego
area morning daily, the Morning
Press, first as Sports Editor
before being named Managing
Editor at age 26
What you might not know about
Warren…

8. When he bought the California
Horsetrader, he infused the classifier
with news and sports coverage of the
region’s shows, events and personalities.
He also brought a “daily-tested tough”
approach to the paper’s organization and
systems. Within a decade, revenues and
pages had more than tripled, and the
Horsetrader team at its peak produced
300-page issues in 72 hours -- mostly
private party ads.

9. Collaboration
His company’s digital solutions have
been shared. In 2006, when fellow AHP
Publisher Crystal Brumme Kimball of
The Equiery faced an insurmountable
obstacle to going to press, she called
Warren, and the Horsetrader team
added the Equiery to their web-based
system. Almost 3,000 miles away,
Equiery staff was able to make their
press date. Eight years and almost 100
issues later, the Equiery continues to
use the Horsetrader’s system.

10. Moving forward
Today’s collaborations extend
outside the print realm, as
Warren works with non-
publishing AHP members
including trade shows and
associations to engage their
audiences with online and
mobile marketplaces and video
contests .

11. Participation
Warren has always been ready
to share things with AHP
members, including a laugh…

12. …and family
Family is at the top of Warren’s
list, and when his three children
were young, the AHP conference
was an annual Wilson family
vacation.
In their camper affectionately
called the “Conestoga,” the
Wilsons drove from San Diego
to AHP meetings in Nashville,
Vail, Park City and San Mateo.

13. AHP Memories

14. “Warren has always been that rare individual who’s
both eager to learn and willing to share. When I first
joined AHP (while publishing California Horse
Review), Warren was just starting out and full of
really smart questions. Over the years, he’s evolved
into the person people turn to for answers--
especially regarding digital solutions--and he’s
always been gracious and generous with his time
and expertise. (He’s also just a sweetie, which is
why everyone loves him.) Congrats, Warren—you
truly are a champion.”
J. Forsberg Meyer

15. It’s my privilege and honor
to present the 2014 AHP
Champion award to a true
publisher, innovator, and a
long time friend.
Warren Wilson joins a long
list of pioneers in AHP’s
Circle of Champions.

16. Let’s take a brief look at the list of
AHP Champions who came before him.

17. Warren Wilson (California Horsetrader)
Barrie Reightler (The Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred)
Frank Lessiter (American Farriers Journal)
Doug Hayes (The American Quarter Horse Journal)

18. Lua Oas Southard (EquiSource)
Stacy V. Bearse (Blood-Horse Publications)
Robert Banner (The Chronicle of the Horse)
Kathy Mezick (Horsemen’s Corral)
Jim Jennings (The Quarter Horse Journal)
Susan Harding (Fleet Street Publishing)
Darrell Dodds (Paint Horse Journal)

19. Walt Wiggins (Quarter Racing World)
Erbert Eades (The Blood-Horse)
Don Price (Michigan Harness Horseman)
Les Ford (The Harness Horse)
Thom Mezick (Horsemen’s Corral)
Peter Winants (The Chronicle of the Horse)
Tracy Gantz (The Thoroughbred of California)
Chris Brune (Eastern/Western Quarter Horse Journal)
Bill Shepard (Paint Horse Journal)
Nancy Lee Comer (The Chronicle of the Horse)
Karl Little (Cutting Horse Chatter)
Jennifer Forsberg Meyer (California Horse Review)

20. Stanley F. Bergstein (Hoof Beats)
Bob Gray (Horseman)
Audie Rackley (The Quarter Horse Journal)
Tony Chamblin (The Horsemen’s Journal)
Ruth Brown (Eastern/Western Quarter Horse Journal)

21. Arnold Kirkpatrick (Thoroughbred Record)
Lucille Shuler (Arabian Horse World)
Melvin Peavey (Horse World)
Don Valliere (Turf & Sport Digest)
Alexander Mackay-Smith (The Chronicle of the Horse)
Snowden Carter (Maryland Horse)