O-R, Almanac staff wins five Golden Quills
The staff at the Observer-Reporter and The Almanac won five Golden Quills journalism awards at Tuesday night’s Press Club of Western Pennsylvania Press banquet in Pittsburgh. Shown at the awards banquet, from left to right, are Rick Shrum, Mike Jones, Karen Mansfield, Liz Rogers, Katherine Mansfield and Bob Pinarski.
Rick Shrum
Mike Jones
Brad Hundt
Eleanor Bailey
Brittany Simms
The Observer-Reporter and The Almanac newspapers received five Press Club of Western Pennsylvania Golden Quill Awards Tuesday night at Rivers Casino, Pittsburgh.
The Golden Quills competition honors professional and student excellence in print, broadcast, photography, videography and digital journalism in Western Pennsylvania and nearby counties in Ohio and West Virginia.
Observer-Reporter staff writer Mike Jones won in the Public Affairs, Politics and Government category for “Attorney General Investigating Clerk of Courts Davis,” a series of stories chronicling the ongoing saga last year of embattled Washington County Clerk of Courts Brenda Davis. Jones was also nominated in the Business, Technology and Consumer category for his story, “Local Restaurants Bouncing Back as Pandemic Continues.”
Staff writer Brad Hundt won a Quill for editorial writing, including “Corporal Punishment Causes More Harm Than Good.” Hundt was also nominated in the Arts and Entertainment category for his feature, “Alice Cooper Continues to Offer up Hard Rock With a Theatrical Twist.”
Retired business writer Rick Shrum won in the Profile category for “Syrup Business a Sweet Time for Donegal Couple,” which profiled Bob and Debby Panichi’s small-batch maple syrup operation.
Copy editor Brittany Simms won for Page Design for “Hook, Line and Sinker,” a fishing derby photo and story package published in The Almanac.
Eleanor Bailey, sports editor for The Almanac, won a Quill for her News Feature, “Jon’s Joyous World,” a tribute to Johnathan David Gentile, the 38-year-old Bethel Park High School social studies teacher who died while kayaking.
Also nominated for Quills were O-R staff writer Katherine Mansfield for her Lifestyle feature, “Mother Knows Best: ‘Crunchy Moms’ Take Parenting Back to Roots,” and copy desk chief Mike Kovak for his front page design, “Back to School.”
Freelance writer John Sacco was nominated for his feature, “A Case of Mistaken Identity,” as well as for a series of sports columns published in the O-R.