Maxwell Award

The Maxwell Award

In 2014, Sharolyn was asked by "The Ridgeback", the official magazine for the Rhodesian Ridgeback Club of the United States, to write a series of articles on the training of her Ridgeback for Search and Rescue. Azize's Princess Levia was donated to Sharolyn for SAR, and was a willing subject for the articles.

In 2015, the magazine submitted her first series of articles to the DWAA contest. At that time, Sharolyn didn't know much about the DWAA, but was pleased to learn when she earned a slot in the finalists that year. She didn't realize what an honor it really was.
She soon learned the Dog Writers Association of America is the most recognized professional writing association devoted to dogs. So when her articles from 2017 were submitted, she recognized the honor awarded to her of becoming a finalist again.

In December of 2017, when Sharolyn was notified she had won her category, it was met with much fanfare in the Sievert household. Writing isn't always easy with her busy schedule, but the Maxwell sure helped make it seem more worth it!

Levia with the Maxwell Medallion

The Maxwell Medallion is named after Maxwell Riddle, a syndicated columnist, feature writer, and reporter. He also wrote a column for Dog World for 50 years, and was a world-renown AKC Judge.

Maxwell also wrote many puppy training and various other dog-related subjects.

DWAA honors him by awarding the Maxwell to writers each year in multiple categories.