Missouri Press Association awards presented to Statesman, NSC

The Daily Statesman and the North Stoddard Countian fared well once again at the Annual Missouri Press Association's Better Newspaper Contest Awards presentation. Daily Statesman General Manager Bobby Greer and Editor Noreen Hyslop attended the Sept. 7 awards luncheon which concluded the MPA Convention in Kansas City to accept 11 awards on behalf of The Statesman and seven more on behalf of the NSC.

Three first place plaques were presented to The Daily Statesman. All three went to Hyslop. They were presented for Best Story About Religion for a story about a mission trip to South Africa; Best Story About Rural Life or Agriculture for a feature story about Terry and Glynda Bates of rural Bloomfield and their prize winning mules; and for Best Feature Story for the story of Harry Swinger, Dexter World War II veteran and former POW.

A second place award in the category of Best Breaking News Story went to staff writer Corey Noles for his story of a fugitive hunt in the Puxico area. Noles also received Honorable Mention for the same story in the category of Best News Story.

A feature story about Dexter downtown barber Charlie Parrish earned Hyslop two awards. The story took second place in the category of Best Business Story and second in the Best Feature Story category.

Earning third place in the Best Feature Photo category was a photo of Hyslop's taken at the Bird Banding event held in June at Otter Slough.

An article on Donna West upon her 50th year anniversary at Weber's Ben Franklin in downtown Dexter earned Honorable Mention in the Best Business Story Category for Hyslop.

A feature story by Hyslop honoring Cliff and June Manlove upon their 70 years of marriage earned Honorable Mention in the Best Feature Category.

A series of articles published in February 2012 focusing on suicide also earned The Statesman Honorable Mention. The four-part series was authored by Noreen Hyslop and Corey Noles.

For the North Stoddard Countian, Noles was awarded a first place award in the category of Best Feature Photo for his work depicting the aftermath of the February 2012 tornado that hit rural Puxico.

Noles also received second and third place awards and an Honorable Mention in the category of Best Breaking News Story in his division.

The Composition Department which consists of Copy Design Editor Marilyn Tucker and Page designer and Paginator Josh Ayers, also received an Honorable Mention in the Best Front-to-Back Newspaper Design category for the North Stoddard Countian.

"We are very proud of these accomplishments," said Greer upon returning from the Kansas City event. "Both the NSC and The Daily Statesman staffs work diligently to bring the news to our readers in a professional manner and to also focus on the community through feature articles. These annual awards serve as an indicator of their continuing efforts."