A year’s worth of hard work paid off this past weekend at the Oklahoma Press Association annual banquet held in Shawnee. Local journalists won 18 different awards not including the coveted Sequoyah Award.

I was so proud to have won for the Best Sports Story, Sports Picture and Sales Promotion with the Gridiron Guide. I also had three second and third place certificates in other areas such as third place for sports coverage. We went up against the best in the state of Oklahoma in our division and won. I’m very proud of our small team at both the Eufaula Indian Journal and the McIntosh County Democrat. We work hard to bring YOU, our readers, great coverage. All those long days and nights paid off for all of us. I could not have accomplished these goals without the help of my co-workers and having a great relationship with our area coaches, athletes and administrations.

I was blessed to have won for Best Sports Story with my article on the Selmon brothers’ statue. I swept first place through third place in Sports Photos and the Gridiron Guide was a big winner in its division. I hope that our local newspapers will continue to be supported by our readers and realize just how important and serious we take our jobs. God bless you.

1-2-3 break.