Dave Kitchell was fortunate enough to began his newspaper career at age 16, earning $1.40 an hour doing whatever needed done — and arguably much that didn’t — in the Kokomo Tribune sports department. He later worked at three other newspapers before returning to the Tribune, where he has been sports editor since 1980.
During his career, Kitchell has won numerous awards, five ranking among the more prestigious. In 1996, he earned a national award for a column he wrote while covering the Olympic Games in Atlanta. That piece drew comparisons from seeing a young girl handing out literature at a KKK rally in his hometown to one week later watching the opening ceremonies in Atlanta that so openly embraced all races from around the world. In 1992, Kitchell was named sportswriter of the year by the ISSA and in 1997, he received the IHSAA’s Distinguished Media Service Award. He was named best sports columnist by the Hoosier State Press Association in 2001 and was a recipient of the Distinguished Service Award by the North Central Conference in 2006.
A life-long resident of Kokomo, Kitchell been active in the community, coaching a variety of sports. He’s a past president of the YMCA board of directors and is presently an officer on boards representing the Howard County Sports Hall of Fame and Kokomo Humane Society.
Kitchell’s wife of 37 years, Linda, is a retired teacher. The couple has two children, Ryan and his wife Molly of Zionsville and Ashley and her husband Joe Dascoli of Carmel. The Kitchells also have five grandchildren.