The South Whidbey Record honored by newspaper peers
Published 7:00 pm Saturday, October 15, 2005
The South Whidbey Record received high marks at last weekend’s annual Washington Newspaper Publisher Association awards ceremony, winning a second place for “general excellence.”
Staff members won 22 individual awards, and the Record received a second place award for community service for the newspaper’s support of tsunami relief efforts in the competition that included newspapers of all sizes.
Newspapers were pitted against other publications of similar size; media professionals from outside Washington judged the contest.
Reporter Cynthia Woolbright earned seven awards, including a first-place award in writing and page design, plus a second-place award for best black-and-white photographic portfolio.
Her awards:
Second place: Best General feature story. “Dear Mom & Dad: Everything’s fine here at camp,” an Aug. 7, 2004 story about Lakeside Bible camp.
First place: Best personality profile. “Love and Politics,” the third part of three-part series on gay unions, May 5, 2004, that told story of one couple’s venture to get married in Oregon only to have the license be invalid when they returned home to Whidbey.
Second place: Best Sports feature, “Band of Brothers,” a story on Dick Francisco and Herb Weissblum, two locals with rich history in boxing on the East and West coasts.
First place: Best single page design. Island Living pages.
Second place: B&W Best feature photo; “Class of Clowns.”
Second place: B&W best portrait; Hometown Hero musician/humanitarian Beverly Graham.
Second place: B&W Photographer’s portfolio (competition included four circulation groups).
“Washington community papers have some pretty outstanding photographers on their staffs, so I was surprised and proud to have my portfolio chosen for recognition,” Woolbright said. “I’m grateful to the great people I get to meet everyday I work for the Record, and fortunate for the opportunity they give me to capture who they are in one image for newsprint.”
Art Bouthillier won a second- and third-place award for best editorial cartoon in the competition that included newspapers of all sizes.
The Record’s sports section was named best overall for papers of its size.
The skill of the Record’s business staff was also widely recognized; the staff won 10 awards.
Rebecca Collins won first place for “Original Illustration in an Ad,” for the old-time bicycle carrier that was once used in the “Today’s Advertising Inserts” listing. Collin’s bicycle carrier illustration has since been incorporated as the signature logo of the Record’s “Reader’s Guide” on Page A2 of every edition.
Lorinda Kay and former employee Kyle Michard took second place for “Multiple Advertiser Ad; color or B&W,” in the Whidbey Wedding Planner in On!Whidbey.
Kay and Michard also won second place for “Special Sections: Merchandising” for the Whidbey Island Days of Yore in On!Whidbey.
Michard also won a third place in “Institutional” (Cheryl Keefe/Windermere ad); “Single Ad over 21 inches; B&W” (Nichols Bros. Boat Builders ad); “Ad Campaigns over 21 inches; color or B&W” (Seeds of Change Series); “Use of Two or more Spot Colors plus Black in ROP ad” (Whidbey Furniture); and “Youth-oriented Content,” (South Whidbey Youth Connection ad).
He also took second place in “Self-Promotion, Single Ad” (the “Extra! Extra!” ad to promote the Record’s partnership with Whidbey Coffee).
The Record’s new sports guy, Jeff VanDerford, was also repeatedly recognized for his work as a writer and a photographer at his previous newspaper, the Journal of the San Juan Islands.
He was recognized individually with a first place for best education story, and won a third place in “Best Sports Action” B&W Photography. He was also part of the team that won for “Best Overall Sports Section” and “Special Sections: Promotion of Tourism.”
VanDerford’s first-place writing award was for “Pregnant at 15,” a story about a young woman softball player who gave her baby up for adoption, then graduated with honors two years later.
“We have a highly talented group here at the Record, and I’m proud of their statewide recognition. They deserve it,” said Record publisher Sherry Mays.
But awards aren’t automatic, she added, and not something that’s the prime goal of the Record’s focus. Harder work comes first.
“Awards aren’t my first priority. Once you get the stories right, the awards follow,” Mays said. “Winning the respect of our community is priority No. 1.”
Former Record employees also won awards for their work while on the staff of South Whidbey’s newspaper.
The winners included a second-place award for Joe Hunt in environmental reporting, and a third-place best photo essay by Jennifer Conway for her Island County Fair coverage.
