Erie Times-News staff writer and columnist John Dudley on Monday was presented with the 2012 George Heaslip Media Award during the PSAC West football media day at Slippery Rock University.

Edinboro sports information director Robert Shreve, left, and PSAC associate commissioner Will Adair, right, present the George Heaslip Media Award to Erie Times-News staff writer John Dudley during Monday's PSAC West football media day at Slippery Rock.

The PSAC’s sports information directors present the award annually to a media professional for meritorious service in covering the conference’s student-athletes, coaches and teams. The award is named after former Cheyney sports information director George Heaslip.

Dudley has been a Times-News staff writer since 1999, covering sports ranging from the youth level to the NFL. For most of the past decade he has been the newspaper’s lead sports columnist. He has written extensively about PSAC football, men’s and women’s basketball and wrestling.

Dudley is a graduate of Cambridge Springs High School and Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. He also served as the sports editor of Brown Thompson Newspapers before joining the Times-News.