The Connection Newspapers garnered dozens of journalism awards from the Virginia Press Association at the association’s annual meeting on March 16. The papers garnered awards for 2001 in news reporting, feature writing, column and headline writing, photography, informational graphics, overall excellence, editorial and sports pages, front page design and special sections.
The Herndon Connection won first place for excellence in editorial pages, and Herndon reporter Sanford Horn won third place for headline writing.
Jeff Graham, Herndon sports editor, won third place in sports event writing for his coverage of Herndon basketball.
The Reston Connection was honored for a series of stories by Alexander Krughoff on teen drug addiction.
Awards included first place for the Newcomers and Community guide, first place for continuing coverage of firefighters and Sept. 11, feature stories, sports news writing and excellence of sports section.
Greg Wyshynski, the Connection’s senior sports editor, won nine awards, including first place for sports writing portfolio, first place for excellence of sports pages, first place for sports column, first place for sports event writing, and first place for sports news story.
Beverly Crawford, Connection reporter for Great Falls and McLean, won five 2001 Virginia Press Association awards, including first place for continuing story for her coverage of Ashley Rader, an organ transplant patient, and first place for feature story writing. Crawford was also honored for newswriting portfolio and both news and sports photography.
Crawford was also part of a team that won first place from the Maryland Delaware D.C. Press Association for continuing coverage in the Potomac Almanac on a proposed Techway connecting Montgomery County, Maryland and Northern Virginia.
Coverage of Sept. 11 won the Connection several honors, including photos at the Pentagon taken by staff photographer Pam Brooks immediately after the attack. Chuck Hagee, staff writer for the Alexandria Gazette Packet, won first place for his series on firefighter involvement with Sept. 11.
The Connection Newspapers compete individually in the weekly categories of the Virginia Press Association. More than 130 Virginia newspapers submitted more than 4,700 entries for the contest.
The Potomac Almanac, the only Connection Newspaper not located in Virginia, competes in the Maryland Delaware DC Press Association, and received 16 awards at an event on March 1, including being named Newspaper of the Year.
In all the Connection Newspapers won 52 press awards for 2001.
See www.connectionnewspapers.com for links to award winners.