Awards
Photo: With my children Brady, Keaton and Kendall in Aquiles, Mexico.
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I serve as managing editor of The Christian Chronicle.
Since 2007, the Chronicle has been blessed to receive 41 national awards from the Associated Church Press and 34 state awards from the Oklahoma Society of Professional Journalists.
In 2012, we entered the Religion Newswriters Association national contest for the first time. I am excited to be a finalist for the RNA’s Magazine News Reporter of the Year. My entry included coverage of an Arizona church member’s death in the Tucson mass shooting that targeted U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, the story of an Oregon minister bringing healing to a community wounded by suicides and a 9/11 anniversary piece on a North Carolina military congregation.
We don’t do what we do to win awards (our mission is to “inform, inspire and unite Churches of Christ”), but it’s always nice to be recognized. See links below to my personal awards with the Chronicle, along with staff honors.
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Photo: The Christian Chronicle staff.
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Associated Church Press “Best of the Christian Press” Awards
(NOTE: Year is when award was given, not when story was published.)
2012: First Place, News Story, for coverage of an Arizona church member’s death in the Tucson mass shooting that targeted U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.
2012: First Place, Feature Article, for the story of an Oregon minister bringing healing to a community wounded by suicides.
2012: Second Place, Convention or Meeting Coverage, for “Saving Sin City.”
2012: Third Place (staff award), Best in Class, National or International Newspaper, for The Christian Chronicle.
2011: First Place, Interview, for feature on “The Rookie” Jim Morris.
2011: Second Place (staff award), Best in Class, National or International Newspaper, for The Christian Chronicle.
2011: Second Place, Feature Article, for “Faith, hope and love behind bars.”
2011: Second Place (with Erik Tryggestad), In-Depth Reporting, for coverage of Haiti earthquake, which included stories by me on Haitian orphans reuniting in the U.S. and Christian university students rallying to help earthquake victims.
2010: First Place (with Erik Tryggestad), Theme Issue, Section or Series, for “Global South” project, which included stories by me from Minnesota, Ghana and South Africa.
2010: Second Place (with Erik Tryggestad), In-Depth Reporting, for “Global South” project, which included stories by me from Minnesota, Ghana and South Africa.
2010: Third Place (staff award), Best in Class, National or International Newspaper, for The Christian Chronicle.
2010: Third Place, News Story, for coverage from Ghana of a partnership between Christian universities in West Texas and West Africa.
2010: Third Place, Feature Article, for coverage of a North Carolina church’s ministry for children with special needs.
2009: First Place (staff award), Best in Class, National or International Newspaper, for The Christian Chronicle.
2009: Third Place (with Erik Tryggestad), Front-Page Design, for November edition.
2008: First Place, Editorial, for “Have We Become Lukewarm?”
2008: Second Place, Convention or Meeting Coverage, for story on a cappella music symposium at Pepperdine University.
2008: Second Place (with Erik Tryggestad), Personally Useful Article, for a series of reports on sex crimes and addictions.
2008: Third Place (staff award), Best in Class, National or International Newspaper, for The Christian Chronicle.
2008: Third Place, Theme Issue, Section or Series, for stories on church-planting efforts.
2007: Third Place, News Story, for coverage of a Tennessee minister’s slaying and the arrest of his wife.
2007: Third Place, Feature Article, for an in-depth story on one family’s experience after Hurricane Katrina.
2007: Third Place (staff award), Best in Class, National or International Newspaper, for The Christian Chronicle.
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2012: First Place, Editorial/Commentary, for “Taking steps to protect children.”
2012: Third Place, General News Reporting, for “He was a hero to his church family.”
2011: First Place (with Erik Tryggestad, Lynn McMillon, Amanda Jordan and Joy McMillon), In-Depth Enterprise Reporting/Team, for “Global South” project, which included stories by me from Minnesota, Ghana and South Africa.
2011: Honorable Mention, Sports Feature, for “The Rookie: Part 2.”
2011: Honorable Mention, Criminal Justice Reporting, for “Faith, hope and love behind bars.”
2010: Third Place (with Erik Tryggestad), Business Reporting, for coverage of the recession’s impact on churches.
2010: Honorable Mention, Best Reporting Portfolio, for five stories published in the July 2008-June 2009 contest period (“Immigration in America: Manhattan church reflects ‘melting pot’ nature of New York City,” “Race and the church: Getting beyond the handshake,” “Campaign 2008: Presidential race engages students,” “By the numbers: Church in America marked by decline” and “Saying goodbye to Cascade College.”)
2009: First Place, Business Feature, for a story on minister retirement issues.
2009: First Place (with Erik Tryggestad), Business Reporting, for coverage of the recession’s impact on churches.
2009: Second Place, Education Reporting, for coverage of Christian schools using education as an outreach tool.
2009: Third Place, Personal Column, for “Throwing more than crumbs at the hungry.”
2009: Third Place, Editorial/Commentary, for “Have We Become Lukewarm?”
2009: Third Place (with Erik Tryggestad, Lynn McMillon and Jonathan Cannon), In-Depth Enterprise Reporting/Team, for “By the numbers” series.
2009: Honorable Mention, Diversity Reporting, for coverage of fire at historically black Christian university.
2008: Second Place, Feature Writing, for an in-depth story on one family’s experience after Hurricane Katrina.
2008: Third Place (with Erik Tryggestad), In-Depth Enterprise Reporting/Team, for “Are We Growing?” series.
2008: Third Place, Sports Column, for a column on faith, family and baseball.
2008: Honorable Mention (staff award), Best Newspaper, for The Christian Chronicle.
2008: Honorable Mention, Entertainment Feature, for story on a church with ties to the “We Are Marshall” movie.
2007: Third Place, General News Reporting, for coverage of Hurricane Katrina.
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Photo: The Tennessee staff of The Associated Press in 2003.
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Before joining the Chronicle, I worked three years as a religion and enterprise writer at The Associated Press in Nashville and Dallas, nine years as a reporter and editor with The Oklahoman in Oklahoma City and three years as a staff writer for smaller newspapers.
A two-time national finalist for the Religion Newswriters Association’s Supple Religion Writer of the Year Award, I received more than 30 writing awards during my secular journalism career for coverage of education, prisons, politics, religion, special projects and other topics.
With AP, I earned second place in 2003 for the Associated Press Managing Editors’ national Charles Rowe Award for distinguished reporting in AP’s 150 domestic bureaus. I won second place in 2004 for Texas AP Staffer of the Year, given by the Texas Associated Press Managing Editors.
At The Oklahoman, Griff Palmer (now with The New York Times) and I claimed a regional Dallas Press Club Katie Award in 2000 for best series in a major metropolitan newspaper. That award honored a computer-assisted reporting project on school choice that I did through a two-month Education Writers Association national fellowship.
I was a lead victims team writer for The Oklahoman’s 1995 Oklahoma City bombing coverage that won two national SPJ awards, a Dart Award and many other awards. In my nine years with Oklahoma’s largest newspaper, I received 11 first-place awards from the Oklahoma SPJ and the Associated Press/Oklahoma News Executives Carl Rogan Awards.
