My newspaper, the Brown County Democrat, fared rather well at the Hoosier State Press Association Foundation 2006 Better Newspaper Contest on Saturday, December 2.
We won 19 awards, including five first-place plaques and both the Photo of the Year and Story of the Year for our division.
In addition, we received second-place in General Excellence among large, non-daily newspapers in the state.
I had my hand in 12 of those 19 awards, including eight for my photography. The remaining four were:
• 2nd place, Community Service (with staff writer Jonathan Hiskes);
• 2nd place, Best Ongoing News Coverage (with editor and wife Linda Margison);
• 3rd place, Best Sports Event Coverage;
• 3rd place, Best Online Web Site.
Below are my photos that won awards:
1st Place – Best Sports Action Photo/Photo of the Year Finalist – Div. 2
Brown County’s Molly Fox, left, and Kim Clark, right, chase after a loose ball against a pair of Indian Creek players on Thursday, February 2. Fox scored 21 points and Clark had 17 in the Lady Eagles’ 73-62 win. (Photo by Rodney A. Margison – © Brown County Democrat)
1st Place – Best General News Photo
Members of the Brown County Lions Club, sponsor of the annual Spring Blossom Parade through Nashville, carry their giant United States flag near the end of the parade on Saturday, May 6. (Photo by Rodney A. Margison – © Brown County Democrat)
3rd Place – Best General News Photo
U.S. Army Sergeant First Class (retired) Carl Olney, of Brown County, salutes while a bugler plays “Taps” during a Veterans Day ceremony at the Brown County Courthouse on Friday, November 11. Sgt. Olney, who also serves in the National Guard, is framed by a wreath placed on the Veterans Memorial outside the building. (Photo by Rodney A. Margison – © Brown County Democrat)
1st Place – Best Feature Photo
Frank Jones releases Francis, a red-tailed hawk that he rescued from the side of the road on November 30, 2005. After more than three months of treatment and rehabilitation for a broken pelvis, Francis was returned to the wild on Friday, March 3, behind the Brown County YMCA, near the area where Mr. Jones found her. (Photo by Rodney A. Margison – © Brown County Democrat)
2nd Place – Best Feature Photo
Jim Stahlhut, of Franklin, uses the golden early morning sunlight to illuminate the House of the Singing Winds, the subject he chose to paint in the Great Outdoor Art Contest at T.C. State Historic Site in Belmont. Mr. Stahlhut, who was painting with oils, was one of numerous participants in the event held Saturday, September 10, as part of the Brown County Art Renaissance. (Photo by Rodney A. Margison – © Brown County Democrat)
1st Place – Best Multiple Picture Group
More than 100 people assembled Sunday, August 14, at a farm pond on a hill, nearly a mile off Grandview Ridge Road in southern Brown County, to give themselves to Jesus Christ. Sponsored by Harmony Baptist Church, the participants, from all religious backgrounds, gathered for food, fellowship and to experience the spirit of the Lord in “that good old way,” through outdoor water baptism. (Photo by Rodney A. Margison – © Brown County Democrat)
3rd Place – Best Multiple Picture Group
Brown County Sheriff Robert “Buck” Stogsdill and seven of his officers conducted a surprise drug raid near this residence on Sweetwater Trail Tuesday afternoon, October 25. The remnants of a clandestine methamphetamine lab were seized by the officers, but because no one was at the residence, no arrests were made. (Photos by Rodney A. Margison – © Brown County Democrat)