By Bobby Ross Jr.

OKLAHOMA CITY — I was pleased to receive the Print Reporter of the Year award in the Oklahoma Society of Professional Journalists’ 2024 annual contest.

I was recognized for a portfolio of five stories that I wrote for The Christian Chronicle, Religion Unplugged and The Associated Press:

1. Jesus at the ballpark: Why MLB teams host faith nights from San Diego.

2. Sharing love — and Christ — with refugees from Oklahoma City.

3. In a Mexican resort city, Christians care for homeless ‘angels’ from Cozumel, Mexico.

4. God and pot: Both sides cite faith in Oklahoma’s recreational marijuana fight from Oklahoma City.

5. A year later, Texas synagogue hostages cope, carry on from Colleyville, Texas.

Winners were announced this week.

“This year’s award recipients are the best of the best in the state’s journalism profession,” said Jerry Goodwin, Oklahoma SPJ president.

Related news concerning 2024 contests:

• Religion News Association honors Bobby Ross Jr. with Supple Award for Feature Writing

• Bobby Ross Jr. wins six national ‘Best of the Church Awards’ from Associated Church Press

• Bobby Ross Jr. wins two first-place prizes in regional Diamond Journalism Awards

• Evangelical Press Association again recognizes Christian Chronicle as top newspaper

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