Prior to joining The Lapeer County Press in April 2017, I served as editor of The Tuscola County Advertiser, finalist for 2016 Newspaper of the Year from the Michigan Press Association.
I received five individual awards:
First place in the category of best editorial for “The loudest whisper in Caro” by Andrew Dietderich
• Judge’s comments: “Wisely and effectively takes a local school board to task for making light of priority with code references to a football game starting in just four minutes when significant discussion should have been dominating the minds of those elected to help ensure students are being educating and that test score results are viewed as a serious barometer of that education.”
Second place in the category of feature story for “Caro’s last standing barbershop marks 50 years” by Andrew Dietderich
• Judge’s comments: “Excellent, colorful writing. Writer’s keen eye puts the reader in that shop, just like it’s been from the past 50 years. Nice mix of modern-day storytelling and history. A winning combination.”
Third place in the category of business/agriculture news for “Poet Biorefining plans $15M expansion in Caro” by Andrew Dietderich
• Judge’s comments: “A solid news story on an important local economic issue. The depth of sources and clarity of news reporting put this story in the top tier of entries.”
Third place in the category of news enterprise reporting for “Heroin overdose death in Reese; Boyfriend faces life over death of Unionville woman” by Andrew Dietderich
• Judge’s comments: “Excellent exploration of a tragic incident. Articles really humanized the drug problem people are enduring. Going a step farther and talking to those involved made this piece stand out.”
Honorable mention in the category of government/education news for “Fouled out: Reese parent banned from school grounds” by Andrew Dietderich
Awards received prior to 2016 include:
