For immediate release

Contact:
Lauren Rochester, SPJ Awards Coordinator, 317-927-8000 ext. 210,
lrochester@spj.org
Karen Grabowski, SPJ Communications Coordinator, 317-927-8000 ext. 215,
kgrabowski@spj.org

INDIANAPOLIS – The Society of Professional Journalists is pleased to announce the Region 10 Mark of Excellence Award winners for the 2009 calendar year. This year, the contest received over 3600 entries.

The honorees were awarded certificates on April 10 during the Region 10 SPJ Spring Conference held at the Bell Harbor International Conference Center in Seattle, Wash. First place regional winners will advance to the national round of judging. National winners will be announced in early May.

The winners are listed below. For additional information on the Mark of Excellence awards, please contact Awards Coordinator Lauren Rochester at 317-927-8000 ext. 210.

2009 Region 10 Winners

Four Year College/University Finalists:

Editorial Cartooning
• First Place: Steve Hamilton's Tooned In - by Steve Hamilton, Seattle Pacific University.
• Second Place: Aileen Benson - by Aileen Benson, Whitworth University.
• Third Place: No Award.*

Feature Photography
• First Place: Tragedy Rattles PLU: Students Pay Tribute to Shooting Victims - by Theodore Charles, Pacific Lutheran University.
• Second Place: Rocky Horror - by Drew Vetere, University of Montana.
• Third Place: Youtube star shines in city - by Shaun Mejia, Seattle Pacific University.

General News Photography
• First Place: Shot Down: Vaccine Shortage Hits Home - by Theodore Charles, Pacific Lutheran University.
• Second Place: On The Verge - by Curtis Simpson IV, Seattle Pacific University.
• Third Place: No More Fear - by Theodore Charles, Pacific Lutheran University.

Photo Illustration
• First Place: War veterans acclimate to student life - by Ryan Ricigliano and Brian Iiyama, Central Washington University.
• Second Place: Building on the Backs of students - by Colleen Kirsten, University of Washington.
• Third Place: No Award.*

Sports Photography
• First Place: Lead Rugby photo - by Laura Easley, Seattle Pacific University.
• Second Place: Strong Strokes for Lute Swimmers - by Theodore Charles, Pacific Lutheran University.
• Third Place: Fighting for the soccer ball - by Greg Lindstrom, University of Montana School of Journalism.

Best Student Magazine
• First Place: Planet Magazine, Western Washington University.
• Second Place: Klipsun Magazine, Western Washington University.
• Third Place: Planet magazine, Western Washington University.

Non-Fiction Magazine Article
• First Place: Why Didn't The Goats Cross The Road - by Oliver Lazenby, Western Washington University.
• Second Place: No Award.*
• Third Place: No Award.*

Best All-Around Daily Student Newspaper
• First Place: The Daily, University of Washington.
• Second Place: No Award.*
• Third Place: No Award.*

Best All-Around Non-Daily Student Newspaper
• First Place: The Whitworthian, Whitworth University.
• Second Place: Gonzaga Bulletin, Gonzaga University.
• Third Place: Argonaut, University of Idaho.

Breaking News Reporting
• First Place: Police shooting leaves UW student dead - by Casey Smith, University of Washington.
• Second Place: Butte mourns victims of tragic plane crash - by Kimball Bennion, University of Montana.
• Third Place: WSU addresses inflated flu numbers - by Dominick Bonny, Washington State University.

Editorial Writing• First Place: The Daily Evergreen, Editorial Board, Washington State University.
• Second Place: In the Loop, Editorial Board, Whitworth University.
• Third Place: The Beacon, Staff, University of Portland.

Feature Writing
• First Place: Perceptions of their own skin - by Alana Curtis, University of Idaho.
• Second Place: Dying to Change - by Scott MacDonald, University of Idaho.
• Third Place: Living on the Iraqi Frontier - by Thomas Hewitt, University of Alaska Fairbanks.

General Column Writing
• First Place: J. Gavin Mathis, Washington State University.
• Second Place: David Guzman, Central Washington University.
• Third Place: Michael Dudley, Seattle Pacific University.

General News Reporting
• First Place: Dead in the Water; Alumni saddened by loss; Football to blame; Grassroots - by Christian Caple and Maks Goldenshteyn, University of Washington.
• Second Place: Gay to straight lecture draws mixed response - by Andrew Sheeler, University of Alaska Fairbanks.
• Third Place: Sex Trafficking in Portland - by Hannah Gray, University of Portland.

In-Depth Reporting
• First Place: Beyond Reach - by Nate Rott, University of Montana.
• Second Place: State audits Nord - by Ben Woodard, Western Washington University.
• Third Place: A mandated monopoly - by Marcus Kellis, University of Idaho.

Sports Column Writing
• First Place: Christian Caple, University of Washington.
• Second Place: No Award.*
• Third Place: No Award.*

Sports Writing
• First Place: Dead in the water; Alumni saddened by loss; Football to blame; Grassroots - by Christian Caple and Maks Goldenshteyn, University of Washington.
• Second Place: Allegations against Griz football players surface - by Tyson Alger, University of Montana.
• Third Place: No Award.*

Best Affiliated Web Site
• First Place: whitworthian.com, Whitworth University.
• Second Place: No Award.*
• Third Place: No Award.*

Best Independent Online Student Publication
• First Place: Native News Honors Project 2009, University of Montana.
• Second Place: Soujoruner Blog 2010 - by Theodore Charles, Kari Plog, Andriana Fletcher and Bryanna Plog, Pacific Lutheran University.
• Third Place: No Award.*

Online Feature Reporting
• First Place: Tent City 3 residents confront stereotypes, support move to campus by BOB NASH - by Robert Nash, University of Washington.
• Second Place: No Award.*
• Third Place: No Award.*

Online In-Depth Reporting
• First Place: The Grace Case Project - by the University of Montana Grace Case Project.
• Second Place: The Women - by Jasmine Linabary, Whitworth University.
• Third Place: Pornography package - by Yong Kim, Whitworth University.

Online News Reporting
• First Place: Copenhagen United Nations Climate Change Conference Coverage - by Alexander Kelly, Western Washington University.
• Second Place: No Award.*
• Third Place: No Award.*

Online Opinion & Commentary
• First Place: Jerod Jarvis, Whitworth University.
• Second Place: No Award.*
• Third Place: No Award.*

Online Sports Reporting
• First Place: Gameday Comes to Eugene - by Bonnie Shelton, Brandon O'Rourke, Jon Stull, University of Oregon.
• Second Place: Young and Restless - by Tony Schick, Zack Berlat, Callin Switzer, Gonzaga University.
• Third Place: No Award.*

Radio Feature
• First Place: Smoking Ban - by Jake Stevenson, University of Montana.
• Second Place: Firefighter Combat Challenge - by Gillette Vaira, University of Montana.
• Third Place: No Award.*

Radio News Reporting
• First Place: Suicide Prevention Walk - by Gillette Vaira, University of Montana.
• Second Place: In Montana, both hope and concern over cap and trade - by Brittany Wooley, University of Montana.
• Third Place: Graffiti in Missoula - by Gillette Vaira, University of Montana.

Radio Sports Reporting
• First Place: UM Football Series - by Vince Bagby, University of Montana.
• Second Place: Basketball Role Models - by Paige Browning, University of Montana.
• Third Place: Volleyball Wrapup - by Vince Bagby, University of Montana.

Television Feature
• First Place: Inside Looking Out - by Jessica Reedy Tiffany Kimmel Stubbart, University of Oregon.
• Second Place: Balancing College Life - by Sarah E. Grant, University of Montana.
• Third Place: Squash Off - by Grant Beaudette, University of Montana.

Television General News Reporting
• First Place: Military Study - by Ashley Korslien, Mark Wilson, University of Montana.
• Second Place: UW addresses swine flu threat - by Katelin Chow, University of Washington.
• Third Place: No Award.*

Television In-Depth Reporting
• First Place: Montana Journal: Unaffordable Education - by Paige Browning and Katrina Heser, University of Montana.
• Second Place: Unspoken: Voices of Suicide in Montana - by Noel Pederson, Breanna Roy, University of Montana.
• Third Place: No Award.*

Television News Photography
• First Place: Hospital Helpers - by Dustin Cowart, University of Montana.
• Second Place: International Student Halloween - by Paige Browning, University of Montana.
• Third Place: SpectrUM Discovery Area - by Daniel Ryan, University of Montana.

Television Sports Reporting
• First Place: Griz Bye-Week - by Jon G. Denny, Laura Elizabeth Wilson, University of Montana.
• Second Place: Chase Reynolds - by Sarah Grant, Lindsey Scheetz, University of Montana.
• Third Place: No Award.*

Two Year College/University Finalists:

Editorial Cartooning
• First Place: American History, not black history - by Joel Hamid, The Triton Review.
• Second Place: No Award.*
• Third Place: No Award.*

Best All-Around Non-Daily Student Newspaper
• First Place: The Sentinel, Staff, North Idaho College.
• Second Place: The Communicator, Staff, Spokane Falls Community College.
• Third Place: No Award.*

Breaking News Reporting
• First Place: Parking pandemonium - by Jake Donahue, North Idaho College.
• Second Place: No Award.*
• Third Place: No Award.*

Editorial Writing
• First Place: The Sentinel, Staff, North Idaho College.
• Second Place: No Award.*
• Third Place: No Award.*

Feature Writing
• First Place: Hooked on Hookah - by Eli Francovich, North Idaho College.
• Second Place: No Award.*
• Third Place: No Award.*

General Column Writing
• First Place: Loren Kelly, North Idaho College.
• Second Place: No Award.*
• Third Place: No Award.*

General News Reporting
• First Place: Freedom of speech or harassment? - by Valerie Topacio, Edmonds Community College.
• Second Place: Part-time faculty gets full-time win - by Peter Sessum, Edmonds Community College.
• Third Place: Former secretary sues NIC - by Mike McCall, North Idaho College.

In-Depth Reporting
• First Place: Bad blood: Campus may ban blood donations - by Peter Sessum, The Triton Review.
• Second Place: Racist act startles community - by Eli Francovich, North Idaho College.
• Third Place: Financial aid worries - by Connor DeVries, North Idaho College.

Sports Column Writing
• First Place: Kalyn Lovlyn, North Idaho College.
• Second Place: No Award.*
• Third Place: No Award.*

Sports Writing
• First Place: Sean Higgins uses experience to influence good character - by Sandra Chansa, The Triton Review.
• Second Place: Seattle's Prodigal son comes home - by Brett Miller, The Triton Review.
• Third Place: Buzzer-beater caps weekend sweep - by Kalyn Lovlyn, North Idaho College.

Best Affiliated Web Site
• First Place: The Communicator Online, Staff, Spokane Falls Community College.
• Second Place: No Award.*
• Third Place: No Award.*

*Judges are not required to select first, second or third place winners.

Founded in 1909 as Sigma Delta Chi, SPJ promotes the free flow of information vital to a well-informed citizenry; works to inspire and educate the next generation of journalists; and protects First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and press. For more information about SPJ, please visit www.spj.org.

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