Awards, Honors
& Achievements

Before telling you about my achievements, it is important to thank the people who have been instrumental in my life. These folks, who molded me professionally, mentally and emotionally, are my heroes.

My achievements are broken into three categories below, including Internet-Related, Newspaper and Personal.

From 1995-1998, I've had the supreme honor of being part of a staff that created the nation's best online newspaper/community sites. As the Internet editor for Sunline, the online division of the Sun Herald and Venice Gondolier newspapers, I've was part of some groundbreaking events for both us and the industry as a whole. 

The three major awards bestowed upon Sunline include: 

• Editor & Publisher's EPpy Award -- Sunline had the honor of being named two years in a row as producing the nation's best Websites. (Picture of award is at top left.) Sunline won the award in 1997 -- competing against all papers under 100,000 circulation  in the world -- and then won it again in 1998, this time competing against U.S. newspapers under 100,000 circulation in size. (E&P no longer allows U.S. papers to compete against international papers in certain categories.)

• Newspaper Association of America's Digital Edge Award -- In the first year Sunline entered the national competition (1997), Sunline was named as having the best newspaper Web site for newspapers under 75,000 circulation. (Award is pictured at top right.) In 1998, Sunline again entered the competition but was disallowed to compete for the top prize because of a new rule stating last year's winners were ineligible to compete. So Sunline entered in other categories, taking first place in Best Public Service and Best Advertising. Sunline was one of only two newspapers to win as many as two awards.

• Pulitzer Prize -- Sunline was the first newspaper Website ever considered for a Pulitzer Prize. Sunline entered itself in the Public Service category but received a letter stating that there were no rules written for online entries. Sunline was disqualified on that basis, and a Pulitzer committee was formed to consider allowing online entries in the future.

• Nominated, NAA's "Internet Pioneer" Award -- I've been honored to twice be a finalist for this award, which recognizes a “visionary whose dedication to innovative ideas and willingness to mentor young leaders have propelled the industry forward.”

Between 1990 and 1995, I had the extreme honor of being editor of the High Springs Herald in North Central Florida. With the overwhelming support of a newspaper publisher who believes in journalism, the newspaper quickly became the most award-winning weekly in Florida -- at one point winning in more than two-thirds of all the categories. The newspaper then went on to become the 2nd-most award-winning weekly in the country. 

During my professional career, I have won first, second, or third place in the state newspaper competition in the following 
categories. 

•      Front Page Design
•      Community Service
•      Editorial Writing
•      Serious Column Writing
•      News Writing
•      Business Writing
•      Public Service
•      Investigative Reporting
•      Spot News Photography
•      Feature Photography
•      Sports Photography
•      Sports Column Writing
•      Agricultural Writing
•      Environmental Writing

•      Agricultural Writing
•      Editorial Writing
•      Spot News Photography
•      Investigative Reporting

Board Member, Tampa Bay Newspapers Inc. -- The St. Petersburg Times owns a group of weekly newspapers, and I sat on the board that oversees them. I evaluated the budget, monitored circulation levels and kept an eye on the general health of the group.

Board Member, Times Staffers Federal Credit Union -- I sat on the Board of Directors of the credit union that serves the St. Petersburg Times, which is Florida's largest daily newspaper. In monthly board meetings and regular visits, I helped monitor the budget, investment choices and other details of the financial entity.
 

Of all the personal awards and honors I've received during my professional career, there are three of which I'm particularly proud:

This award was given to me by the Florida Press Association as part of my first-place award in the association's investigative reporting competition. The award was for a year's worth of effort in trying to uncover why a Navy jet plane crashed in a river near Gainesville. I would eventually learn that the jet hit a bird, but my investigation would go on to show that the plane was being allowed to fly with numerous defects, including a faulty ejection seat handle and more than a dozen other defects. The pilot had died because his seat's parachute got tangled before it had a chance to open.
 

During my junior college years, Phi Theta Kappa was a big part of my life. This is a fraternal service organization of college students of all ages. At one of my very first meetings, I sat next to the man who wrote the song, "Twisting & Turning The Night Away." I later went on to join one of the alumni chapters of the organization, once again enjoying the diversity of the group of people. In 1990, at the National Convention, I was named to the Alumni Hall of Honor. To this day, I continue to run into fellow Phi Theta Kappans. 

One of the best decisions I ever made was to attend junior college before attending a 4-year university. Attending Palm Beach Junior College and then Santa Fe Junior College allowed me to spend more time developing my career through internships. My junior college experience was a great one, and I was moved to tears when, years later, the Florida Association of Community Colleges gave me a Distinguished Alumni Award at a banquet. It was a particularly wonderful moment for me because one of my original mentors, Palm Beach Junior College President Edward Eissey, was in the crowd, as was one of my idols, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Lucy Morgan of the St. Petersburg Times. Lucy, too, was receiving a Distinguished Alumni award.