Five Skagit Valley Herald staffers were honored with professional media awards Saturday evening, May 19, in Seattle for their noteworthy and insightful photography or writing.
The Northwest Excellence in Journalism contest is held annually by Region 10 of the Society of Professional Journalists to honor exceptional journalism in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Alaska. The contest is open to SPJ members and nonmembers in all forms of media — print, online, radio and television.
Skagit Valley Herald staffers Tahlia Honea, Kate Martin, Jordan Stead, Scott Terrell and Frank Varga won six awards — two first place, three second place and one third place — in the following categories:
Lifestyles Reporting
1st place, Tahlia Honea for “Living in the moment”
Long Feature Story
1st place, Tahlia Honea for “Keeping the family together”
Investigative Reporting
2nd place, Kate Martin for “A taxing matter”
Health Reporting
2nd place, photographer Scott Terrell and reporter Tahlia Honea for “His final choice”
Photo Page — Story or Essay
2nd place, Jordan Stead for “From gangbanger to God-fearing”
Feature Photography
3rd place, Frank Varga for “Fresh clams to go”
This year’s contest saluted work produced or published in 2011. Thousands of entries from dozens of media organizations through the Northwest region were evaluated and rated by non-region judges.