For 5th straight year, SCN writers honored by national journalism group

by Agnes Geiger
The Stockbridge Community News earned six awards in this year’s National Federation of Press Women’s At-Large Communications Contest.

Judy Williams, a writer who also serves as SCN board treasurer and Editor-in-Chief Mary Jo David, who’s also a writer and columnist for the paper, produced and submitted the winning entries. This is the fifth consecutive year that SCN’s writers were recognized in the contest.

In the at-large division of the NFPW Communications Contest, media professionals competed against entries from states that do not have an NFPW chapter.

“We had an extremely competitive at-large contest again this year,” said Teri Ehresman, of Idaho, who is the NFPW contest director. She added the at-large contest drew strong entries from journalists and writers in 18 states, Washington, D.C., and the country of Spain.

Ehresman also congratulated both Williams and David as each of their entries submitted, two for Williams and four for David, placed in the at-large contest.

First-place honors

Judy Williams and Mary Jo David each received one first-place award.

Williams received first-place honors in the specialty articles – obituary category for
“A grateful community bids farewell to Mark Schroeder, retired Unadilla Township fire chief,” published March 28, 2021. The story detailed Schroeder’s funeral, health problems and his dedication to the department and the community. The judge said the story was a “nice tribute to someone who sounds like a wonderful person.”

David earned first-place honors in the informational column category for two samples of her StockBIZ columns.

• “How will businesses work post-pandemic?” was published in July 2021 and gave business take-aways from the previous 16 months of the pandemic. She advised business owners to learn from this time, communicate and be ready for the next time.
• “Nothing says ‘thank you’ like a tuition break,” published in September 2021, discussed Michigan’s Futures for Frontliners scholarship, and its tuition-free access to community college for workers who kept the state running during the pandemic.

The judge said David’s articles were “informative stories with lots of great information and quotes.”

As first-place winners, the entries from Williams and David will continue on to the NFPW National Communications Contest and compete with other first-place entries from across the country. National contest winners will be announced and the awards presented at the NFPW annual Conference awards dinner June 25 in Fargo, North Dakota.

Honorable mentions

Williams also received an honorable mention award in the personality profile category for the story “Donna Stephens, the first female prison corrections officer in Michigan,” published March 9, 2021. The judge said the story was an “interesting look into the life of the first female corrections officer in Michigan. It was a realistic portrayal which included the serious as well as humorous aspects of her job.”

David also received honorable mentions for entries in three other categories.

• Specialty articles, history, for a feature on Anne (Howlett) Potts called “Anne (Howlett) Potts treasures family memories, growing up in Gregory,” published June 23, 2021. The judge said the article was “a personable piece written with a sense of humor, relatable, picturesque and with wonderful detail.
• Feature story, for “‘Finding Tyler’: Film accepted to premiere at RiverRun International Film Festival,” published April 22, 2021. The judge said the article was “well-written, but perhaps too tightly focused on the documentary.”
• Specialty articles, personal essay, for “How Many Memories Can a Christmas Tree Hold?” published Dec. 24, 2021. The judge said the article was “sentimental” and praised David for doing a good job.

According to Ehresman, the entries were judged and ranked by professional communications experts from throughout the United States.

NFPW is a nationwide organization of women and men pursuing careers across the communications spectrum, including print and electronic journalism, freelancing, new media, books, public relations, marketing, graphic design, photography, advertising, radio and television.

SCN writers Judy Williams (left) and Mary Jo David (right) received first-place awards in the National Federation of Press Women’s At-Large Communications Contest for articles published in the Stockbridge Community News in 2021. Photos provided by Williams and David.