Lori Potter, a reporter, columnist and photographer for the Kearney Hub, has won the overall sweepstakes award for a record-setting fourth time in the National Federation of Press Women’s 2018 Professional Communications Contest.
Lori Potter, right, receives the Sweepstakes Award from NFPW President Marianne Wolf-Astrauskas.
Potter was honored Saturday, Sept. 8, during an awards ceremony at the NFPW annual conference in Bethlehem, PA. She previously won the NFPW sweepstakes award in 2008, 2012 and 2014.
NFPW President Marianne Wolf-Astrauskas praised Potter for her accomplishments. “In her journalistic career, Potter’s work has had a positive impact on generations of her readers; most I’m sure she has never met. Time and again, her talents, whether behind a camera or typing at her keyboard, have challenged, inspired and made us pause to consider what it is like to walk in someone else’s shoes, understand what another person has to go through, or appreciate the beauty and grace in the world that we live in. Potter’s talent remains a positive difference in other people’s lives.”
Finishing in third place in sweepstakes competition was Mary Jane Skala, who is also a writer and columnist for the Kearney Hub. She was the NFPW sweepstakes winner in 1996. Tammy Keith, a writer for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Niche Publications, placed second in the sweepstakes competition.
Recipients from across the country were honored for excellence in communications at the awards dinner Saturday night. A distinguished group of professional journalists, communications specialists, and educators judged more than 1,500 entries in a wide variety of categories. Only first-place winning entries at the state level are eligible to enter the national contest. All entries were published or broadcast between Jan. 1, 2017, and Dec. 31, 2017.
In all, 15 Nebraska Press Women earned top awards in the NFPW 2018 Communications Contest. Nebraska Press Women submitted 58 first-place entries (from the state contest) to the national contest. Of those 58 entries, 38 won awards.
NPW members earning awards are listed below, alphabetically by community. They include:
- Cedar Creek – Carla Chance, Video King: second place in page design for magazines or newsletters; third place for brochures – corporate; and honorable mention for advertising campaign built around one subject, and newsletters – corporate.
- Clearwater – LuAnn Schindler, Clearwater Record-Ewing News: third place in specialty articles – hobby or craft, and website edited by entrant – corporate; and honorable mention in personality profile – 500 words or fewer, and specialty articles – fashion.
- Grand Island – Bette Pore, Grand Island Independent: first place in headlines, and page design – newspapers.
- Grand Island – Joni Ransom, Central Community College: second place in section editing for magazines or newsletters.
- Kearney – Lori Potter, Kearney Hub: first place in specialty articles – agriculture, specialty articles – food, specialty articles – science or technology, and photo essay; second place in news story – newspaper, specialty articles – education, specialty articles – government or politics; and third place in single photographs – general.
- Kearney – Erika Pritchard, Kearney Hub: honorable mention in specialty articles – environment.
- Kearney – Mary Jane Skala, Kearney Hub: first place in specialty articles – home, specialty articles – social issues, and personal columns; second place in specialty articles – religion; and third place in specialty articles – history.
- Lincoln – Jennifer Gjerde, Nebraska Tourism Commission: first place in news or feature release – single; and second place in audiovisuals.
- North Platte – Tammy Bain, North Platte Telegraph: third place in personal blogs.
- North Platte – Lori Clinch, weekly columnist , North Platte Telegraph: second place in humorous columns.
- North Platte – Heather Johnson, Mid-Plains Community College: first place in single photograph – sports; and third place in specialty articles – sports, and news or feature press releases – multiple.
- Osceola – Terri Hahn, Grand Island Independent: first page in special sections – infrequent, and second place in section editing.
- Omaha – Cindy Murphy McMahon, Creighton University: third place in news story for magazines or newsletters.
- Scottsbluff – Irene North, Scottsbluff Star-Herald: first place in editorial for magazine or newsletter; and third place in enterprise reporting.
- Seward – Jill Martin, Seward County Independent: first place for single news or feature photo.
NFPW is a nationwide organization of women and men pursuing careers across the communications spectrum, including print and electronic journalism, freelancing, new media, books, public relations, marketing, graphic design, photography, advertising, radio, and television.
