By Mary Thurwachter
The Coastal Star received three first-place awards and nine overall in the Florida Press Association 2023 Weekly Newspaper Contest for non-daily newspapers.
The stories receiving first-place recognition included a touching obituary about a 100-year-old World War II hero who jumped with the U.S. Army’s 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment into Normandy on D-Day. Another was the intriguing tale of a 29-year-old fishmonger who became a digital star with no-frills videos on how to clean and fillet fish.
The association presented the awards at a ceremony July 21 in Sarasota.
Though it comes out monthly, The Coastal Star competed against weekly newspapers in a division for papers with circulations over 15,000. The contest period was for the 2022 calendar year.
“Since we knew hurricane coverage was going to dominate the awards this cycle, we entered fewer than usual,” said Mary Kate Leming, editor of The Coastal Star. “As always, the best rose to the top, but all were winners in my book. Every award granted to our excellent team of writers reflects on their commitment to community journalism. If they weren’t agreeable to contributing to our monthly publication, there would be no news and information from many of our South County communities. Their talent is appreciated.”
The paper’s top awards went to:
• The Coastal Star staff for overall graphic design.
• Ron Hayes for best obituary — about WWII veteran Ed Manley.
• Jan Norris, for outdoor and recreation reporting — about Delray Beach fishmonger Reed Brand.
Second-place awards went to:
• Tim Stepien for his feature photo of a baby sea turtle at dawn.
• Charles Elmore for health, medical and science reporting — about mail order medicine.
• Rich Pollack for education news — about the popularity of elite schools.
Third-place awards went to:
• The Coastal Star staff for front page design.
• Norris for arts, entertainment and review reporting — about female chefs.
• Tao Woolfe for her feature story about Ukrainian refugees on Hypoluxo Island.
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