- April 24, 2024
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We're proud to announce that, for the second year in a row, your Palm Coast Observer has been awarded first place in General Excellence by the Florida Press Association, in this year's Better Weekly Newspaper Contest, for the over-15,000 circulation category.
Think about that next Thursday as you walk outside to the driveway and find a newspaper in a clear, plastic baggie. You slide it out of the plastic and spread the newsprint out on your table and eat your breakfast. You spend a few minutes reading about what your neighbors are up to — the successes and tragedies, the nonprofit awards and local government happenings. It's not a bad deal, right? The best in the state — for free.
There were also individual winners: Sports Editor Jeff Dawsey won third place for a sports feature story. Recently departed Associate Editor Shanna Fortier was given second place for a feature photo and third place for environmental reporting. News Editor Jonathan Simmons won second place for a non-profile feature story and third place for a general news story.
I was also honored to receive first place for education reporting, as well as first place for a humor column. I've been reminding my wife, Hailey, about that last award on a daily basis, whenever she seems to think that one my jokes around the house is not up to her standards.
Of course, writing the stories and taking the photos are only part of the process. Special thanks to our publisher, John Walsh, for leading us in the right direction. And thanks to our designer, Ximena Alfaro, for making each edition look great. Our advertising manager, Jaclyn Centofanti, helps to connect our readers to our business community through advertising. Everyone else on the masthead list to the right also had a part in making this operation something to be proud of.
Thanks to everyone in the community who has supported us by sending in your news ideas and trusting us with telling your stories. We will continue to strive to fulfill our mission statement, which is to inspire our community with extraordinary local content and to help our partners prosper.
