PPA honors Enterprise for community service

PPA President Doug McDonough with Enterprise publisher Roger Estlack.

Photo by Derrol Wells / Eagle Press
 
The Clarendon Enterprise was the recipient of the Ken Towery Community Service Award when the Panhandle Press Association (PPA) met for its annual convention in Amarillo last Saturday.

The local paper was honored for its efforts in support of the restoration of the 1890 Donley County Courthouse.

Coverage of the courthouse project dates back to 1997 when the Texas Courthouse Alliance began documenting the problems facing the historic structure. But Saturday’s award came for the work the Enterprise did during calendar year 2000, the highlight of which was the March 9 issue that explained the project to local citizens. That same issue included the talked-about “Ghost from the Past” photo, which used digital imaging to superimpose the missing third story and dormers onto a modern picture of the courthouse.

The March 9 issue was included in the county’s grant application to the Texas Historical Commission. In May of last year, Preservation Texas cited the photo when that group presented the Enterprise with its Texas Media Award.

“We put a lot of hard work into that issue of the paper,” said publisher Roger Estlack, “and we were honored to be recognized for that work by our peers.”

The Towery Award is named after former Floydada publisher Ken Towery, a man who was devoted to community journalism during his career. Each year the PPA Board of Directors selects two recipients of the award, one in the weekly division and another in the semi-weekly/daily division. The winner receives a plaque and a $250 cash award.

Also during last week’s convention, the Enterprise was recognized with several awards in the weekly division of the annual Better Newspaper Contest.

A first place plaque was awarded in the Feature Writing category for stories written by Valerie Avery, Lindy Helms, and Roger Estlack. Avery’s winning article was about the retirement of longtime Clarendon Junior High teacher Helen Estlack. Helms’ story about Grace Leathers was very well received, and judges were also impressed with Roger Estlack’s biographical sketch of Zell SoRelle.

Cynthia Hall and Christi Ross were the first and second place winners in the Humorous Columns category.

PPA Vice President Mary Dudley said judges from the Gulf Coast Press Association were so impressed with the winning column writers from the PPA that they asked for copies of the winning columns so they could show their writers the way it’s done.

The Enterprise received a second place plaque for Best Editorials. The judge said the editor’s remarks on November 9 regarding a local cross burning were handled nicely. “It deserved a comment, and the writer was on the mark.” And the judge described an October editorial as “excellent.” That column was about a local student who was suspended as a result of a federal gun law.

The Enterprise was also awarded a second place plaque in Best Feature Photo, second place for Front Page Layout, a third place plaque for Best Special Edition, and an honorable mention for Headline Writing.

The General Excellence Award went to the Castro County News this year. The Clarendon Enterprise was second, and the Canadian Record was third.

Also during this year’s convention, four distinguished members of the press were inducted into the PPA Hall of Fame on Friday night.

The late Herschel A. Combs of the Memphis Democrat, the late Van Stewart of the Ochiltree County Herald, Sue Cannon of the Olton Enterprise and the Hart Beat, and Bill Ellis of the Friona Star and the Bovina Blade.

Combs published the Democrat for 28 years and was PPA President in 1951-52. Ellis made PPA history when he became the youngest man to be president of the association in 1969. He held that record until Roger Estlack was elected to that position in 1997.

PPA officers for the coming year are President Mary Dudley of the Perryton Herald, Vice President Kayla Parvin of The Booker News, Secretary Beki Lightfoot of the Amarillo Globe-News, Mike Haynes of Amarillo College, Ron Carr of the Friona Star, Jessica Brooks of the [Wheeler] County Star-News, John Kanelis of the Amarillo Globe-News, Dianna Dandridge of the Hereford Brand, and Past President Doug McDonough of the Plainview Daily Herald.