I am particularly proud of having won five "Harris Award for Editorial Writings" during my career in South Carolina. I'm not sure if anyone has ever done that before.
I don't have clips of everything I've ever done. Some of the papers had just rudimentary websites when I was there. Some were sites I actually built.
Some have changed their sites and some have gone behind paywalls, making it tough.
II have pdfs of actual publications of my latest awards, and I have reconstructed some of the others.
When I won my awards, the Harris Award for Editorial Writing was the most competitive award category in the S.C. Press Association's contest. You went up against every weekly and non-daily newspaper in the state, there were many, many more non-daily than daily newspapers in South Carolina, and there were very few papers that do not enter.
Now, weeklies go against weeklies, two and three-times weeklies go up against two- and three-times weeklies, so the competition is a bit diluted.Anyway, here are some reconstructed examples:
My third Harris Award overall was the first of three I received while working for The News & Reporter of Chester.
Third Harris entries.
My second was for work at The People-Sentinel of Barnwell.
Second Harris: It's one sacrifice too many.
In September, 2001, I received a first place award in our company contest for an editorial I wrote. You can read it, and the judge's comments, here -- Of Declarations and Flags .
At the end of July, 2000, we learned the results of the Community Newspapers, Inc. contest. I took first place for best editorial in that contest. The judge had six honorable mentions, and I got two of those as well.
The first place one, and the judge's comments can be read here.
CNI Editorial Award: Voters, not school board, should reject candidacy
Early in my career at Barnwell, my editor was named the best feature writer in the state, and I was named the best editorial writer in the state. This was my first Harris Award for Editorial Writing. It also was for work at The People Sentinel of Barnwell.
My publisher at the time and the chairman of the company made a big deal about it, so I got a smile out of it.
Read my submissions here -- First Harris award.
