SCN’s Judy Williams places in national writing contest, again

by Agnes Geiger

When you’re a news writer and reporter for your local newspaper, you don’t work for the glory. All you need is a favorable comment or two to keep going and the knowledge that you’ve done a good job in providing a service for your community.

So receiving national recognition is a rare thing, at least for most local writers. But Stockbridge Community News writer Judy Williams is an exception.

Williams, who also serves as SCN’s treasurer, recently received an honorable mention award in the National Federation of Press Women’s 2024 National Communications Contest. Award winners were announced June 22 during the organization’s national conference in St. Louis, Mo.

Williams’ winning article, “Fire Up Panthers! Stockbridge students create a small business,” was first published on the SCN website Dec. 7, 2023, and reprinted in SCN’s January 2024 edition. It detailed the development of a microbusiness owned and operated by eight young men in the Stockbridge Jr./Sr. High School’s special education program. For their business, the students decided to make and sell fire starters.

“Fantastic story on a great topic!” the at-large contest judge wrote. “What great students these young gentlemen are.”

According to SCN editor-in-chief, Mary Jo David, “Besides her treasurer responsibilities, you’ll often see Judy chasing down photos and writing stories for the paper. She has a knack for identifying inspiring story ideas, and anywhere her byline appears, you can be sure readers will be drawn in completely. I’m not at all surprised by Judy’s frequent successes at the NFPW annual competition.”

This is at least the fifth time Williams has placed in the national contest. In 2022, she received another honorable mention for “A grateful community bids farewell to Mark Schroeder, retired Unadilla Township fire chief,” published in SCN’s April 2021 edition.

In 2020, Williams was awarded second place for “Memorial Day: More than just a three-day weekend,” published in SCN’s May 2019 edition. The article was a moving remembrance of the events after the death of Williams’ brother, John Donohue, 18, who was killed in combat in Vietnam in 1968.

In 2019, she was honored with a national honorable mention award for her “Thank You Veterans” stories.

In 2018, Williams received two national awards for her work with SCN team members. A series of stories about veterans, which were written by Williams, Patrice Johnson, and Roberta Ludtke, earned a first-place award in the Special Series category. In a project celebrating SCN’s one-year anniversary, an SCN team of Williams, Johnson, Nancy Wisman, Hope Salyer and Molly Howlett picked up a second-place award in the category of Marketing Program or Campaign.

Making it to the national contest is a huge accomplishment. Entries must receive a first-place award in a state or at-large contest before being considered for national honors. What makes it even tougher is that Michigan writers’ entries are judged in the at-large category, which combines entries from about 19 other states and Washington, D.C.

Congratulations—AGAIN—Judy Williams! Thank you for keeping SCN’s many-year streak alive at the NFPW National Awards.

2024 NFPW At-Large Contest results
In addition to her first-place in the at-large contest for the article described above, Williams received an honorable mention in the personal essay category for “What happened to Memorial Day observances?” (SCN, May 2023). The judge wrote, “The stats with the fatalities in each war were noteworthy. The author justified why remembering Memorial Day was important to her; I hope others got that message.”

Mary Jo David had four entries place in the NFPW At-Large Contest. Her work received three second-place awards and one third-place award.

• “Judge Susan L. Reck photograph by Stockbridge resident unveiled in courthouse” (SCN, August 2023) received a second-place in the News Story category. “Great lead and appealing story that I’m sure readers enjoyed,” the judge wrote.
• “Gordie Kunzelman joins ranks of retired Town Fathers…” (SCN, November 2023) earned a second-place award in the Personality Profile (over 750 words) category. “A sparkling profile of a beloved community member,” the judge wrote. “I wish I knew Gordie. I can just picture the old-timers drinking coffee at his business.”
• “‘Lessons in Chemistry’ Provides Food for Thought” (SCN, October 2023) won a second-place award in the Column-Personal Opinion category. According to the judge, “The strength of the column is in the correlation from the book’s events in the 1950s and 60s to today’s world.”

“Woah Nellie! Memories in the kitchen, while not always fun, are still to be treasured” (SCN, December 2023) received a third-place award for Column-Humorous. The judge wrote, “While touches of humor emanate throughout, the column also is flavored with nostalgia … you can almost taste the homemade cookies and biscuit, and relate to the pudding tale. Nicely done!”

Winning at the national level in the annual NFPW Professional Communications Contest is nothing new for Judy Williams, who received an Honorable Mention this year. Photo provided by Judy Williams