C & G staffers win 2021 Society of Professional Journalists awards

METRO DETROIT — Six C & G Newspapers staffers recently received a total of 11 Society of Professional Journalists Detroit Excellence in Journalism awards in the print Class C category — circulation over 15,000.

On May 5, the 2021 SPJ Detroit Excellence in Journalism awards ceremony took place at the San Marino Club in Troy. This year, members of Florida Pro Sunshine State Awards judged more than 600 entries from across the state of Michigan.

“After two years of virtual award programs, we are excited to be celebrating in person the best journalism in Metro Detroit and Mid-Michigan,” said Beth Konrad, president of the Detroit Chapter of the SPJ, in a prepared statement. “Our acknowledgement and appreciation to every reporter, editor, writer and producers of all news media who persevered the enormous challenges of this pandemic, never wavering in the mission of journalism — to seek and report the truth. Your work has never been more important.”

This year, C & G Staff Writer Maria Allard took home two third-place awards for her stories “There is a bond that connects all veterans” in the Warren Weekly in the category of community/local news reporting and “Local fans, musicians remember drummer Charlie Watts” in the Eastsider in the category of general news reporting.

Staff Writer Sarah Wojcik won a first-place award for her story “Outgoing Clawson city council appoints Georges, who was 4th in election, to council in 3-1 vote” in the Royal Oak Review under consumer/watchdog reporting.

According to the judge’s comments, Wojcik’s reporting “helps the community by illustrating the dysfunction of its city council. When voters understand what their representatives care about — and don’t care about — they can make informed decisions. I think this reporting makes their priorities clear.”

Staff Writer Michael Koury received three second-place awards for his stories “Ferndale, Berkley school districts return to in-person learning” in the Woodward Talk under education reporting; “Lawsuits delay Berkley marijuana licensing process” in the Woodward Talk under open-government reporting; and “Silver medalist, Berkley native recounts journey that led to Olympic dreams” in the Woodward Talk under sports reporting.

Staff Writer Mary Beth Almond clinched three wins: a first-place award for her story “Freshman girl scores spot on high school football team” in the Rochester Post under sports reporting; a second-place award for her story “Homebuyers, renovators battle ‘unprecedented’ lumber costs” in C & G Newspapers under explanatory story; and a third-place award for her story “School cafeterias adapt to food shortages amid supply chain backlog” in the Rochester Post under education reporting.

Graphic Designer Jason Clancy scored a third-place award for “When dinosaurs ruled the Earth — in Novi” in the Novi Note under feature page design — newspapers only.

Former Staff Writer Alex Swarc won a third-place win for his story “Mount Clemens community rallies in support of fire victims” in the Mount Clemens-Clinton-Harrison Journal under community/local news reporting in the print Class B category.