The staff of the San Marcos Daily Record brought home 10 awards from the Texas Associated Press Managing Editors Saturday in Austin.
Staff Reporter Robin Blackburn, Photographer Denise Cathey, Managing Editor Anita Miller and Lead Designer Colton Ashabranner all won first place awards.
Blackburn and Cathey won an elite “Star” award for “Clouded Horizons,” about residents of the Siesta Mobile Home Park who formed a tenants’ association to press for much-needed repairs and safety improvements. Judge Julie Stricker of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner had this to say: “Well-written, informative story with a good mix of the human element and stats.”
Miller’s win was in the Short Features category. “Their first impulse was to help” told the story of two former residents of the Iconic Village Apartments who assembled clothing, toiletries and household items into a “free store,” for victims of the fire that killed five and injured more, some critically.
“Miller spun an important tale out of a community tragedy by focusing on the resilience and best nature of people who suffer,” wrote Judge Eric Larsen of the Fort Collins Coloradoan. “During times of trial, readers need something to feel. This surely provided respite from the bleakness of the tragedy. Well done.”
Ashabranner took first place in Infographics for his graphic on breast cancer deaths among Texas women in 2015, an illustration for Publisher Lance Winter’s series on breast cancer survivors. “Nice graphic with easy-to-read information and icons. Well done!” the judge said.
Cathey also won a second place for her video titled, “Baking for Juneteenth,” which portrays twins Bailey Rae and Brooklyn Rose Tansil baking a cake for their father who had just returned from a deployment to the Middle East as practice for the annual Juneteenth Cake Auction that raises money for scholarships for local students.
Cathey took a third place award in feature photography for her photograph of veteran Bibb Underwood that ran in the Record’s November Veterans Special Edition.
The Record was given honorable mention in the Newspaper of the Year, Sports Feature for “State’s Jayla Johnson finds The Big Ticket” to success by Sports Reporter Drew King, Specialty Reporting for coverage of the Iconic Village fire; Star Photojournalist of the Year for 12 submitted images from throughout the year, and in Celeste Williams Star Sportswriter of the Year for “Cats claim first-ever NCAA tournament victory” by Nick Castillo.
“The Daily Record staff works hard to deliver news that impacts the lives of those we serve,” Winter said. “Recognitions — such as these — are important. It shows the commitment we have to achieving communication excellence.”
