The Flare wins 17 Gold Circle awards in nationwide competition

Staff members of The Flare, Kilgore College's weekly student newspaper, recently garnered 17 Gold Circle awards in a nationwide competition sponsored by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association.

According to Bettye Craddock, KC journalism instructor and newspaper adviser, this is the most Flare staffers have ever received in this contest.

The winning selections include student work published from Nov. 2, 2007, to Oct. 31, 2008. Entries were made up of individual photos, portfolio selections, page designs and various written work.

Edmund J. Sullivan, CSPA's executive director, said 3,370 college entries for Gold Circle awards were received this year. He said, "excellence" is what makes a winning entry stand out above the rest.

"In a writing category, the winner would need a wellcrafted piece that holds a reader's attention. If design, either an arresting image or a pleasing presentation that matches the importance or content of the written material accompanying the illustration, photo or cartoon."

The awards, Sullivan said, are the recognition student journalism deserves and to "remind readers there are many paths to excellence, not just in already-famous places."

Sullivan advises journalism students to "keep on doing journalism--even as newspapers fade as a dominant medium, journalism flourishes in many different places. New business models will arise to pay for quality journalism and that's when the experience of making award-winning pieces will pay off for them."

The Flare co-executive editor J.C. Derrick, Longview freshman, believes the awards spotlight The Flare staff and advisers, not just individuals.

"It's really exciting to see The Flare receive a record number of awards this year," Derrick said. "The students are working hard, but I think this is also a direct reflection on our advisers. They do a great job."

Some of the award-recipients have since left KC, either transferring to other colleges or graduating.

Jacob Adkisson transferred to University of Texas at Arlington, where he works for the school's paper, The Shorthorn.

Melissa Greene and Sarah Fields-Thomas are juniors at the University of Texas at Tyler; Sara Knight is a junior at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colo.; and Kyle Shipp is a junior at A&M University in College Station.

Award winners are as follows:

Jacob Adkisson (Hallsville) - 3rd in black and white photo story; 3rd in photography portfolio

Andrew Bennett (Hallsville) - 2nd in advertising layout

Taylor Cammack (Longview) - 2nd in page one design; 2nd in photo layout

J.C. Derrick, (Longview) - Honorable mention in news feature; 3rd in black and white photo story

Chatty Easley (Kilgore) - 1st in advertising photography

Sarah Fields-Thomas (Longview) - 1st in photo layout; 1st in single subject feature package

Clint Fultner (Hallsville) - 2nd in editorial cartoons

Rick Gray (Longview) - 2nd in single sports photo (black and white)

Melissa Greene (Kilgore) - Honorable mention in first person experience; 1st in single subject news or feature package

Sara Knight (Hallsville - 2nd place in feature page design; 3rd place in photo layout (full page)

Kyle Shipp (Kilgore) - 1st place in photo layout (full page)