EDITORIAL
On April 30, 2010, Jack Kenney retired from the ASM Journals Department after 25 years of service. He served as the production editor for the Journal of Bacteriology for the last 13 of those years. I worked with Jack for almost 10 years. He was an especially gifted production editor; he solved countless problems for me when I was an editor, and I know that he helped countless authors. Jack died suddenly and unexpectedly on July 10, 2010, before he really had a chance to enjoy his retirement.
At the annual JB editors' meeting following Jack's untimely death, it was unanimously decided to rename the JB Editors Award for Outstanding Service on the Editorial Board to the Jack Kenney Award for Outstanding Service.
At the 2016 editors' meeting, Mark Gomelsky was the editors' choice as the recipient of the Jack Kenney Award. Gomelsky is a professor in the Department of Molecular Biology at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, WY. Mark's research focuses on signal transduction, especially that mediated by cyclic dimeric GMP, and he uses synthetic biology to construct light-activated proteins and to engineer metabolic circuits. He won the award because he was the top performing Editorial Board member. The editors know that he will readily accept assignments and return high-quality reviews in a timely manner. In the 12 months preceding the meeting, Mark reviewed 13 manuscripts with an average turnaround time of 14 days. Moreover, only once during this period did he decline a review request. In appreciation of his efforts, Mark was awarded the plaque he is shown holding.
The editors of the Journal of Bacteriology are delighted to recognize and honor Mark Gomelsky's service to our journal.