Okay, now my chest is really puffed out. That, and the pressure's on.
On the weekend I won the British Columbia/Yukon Community Newspaper Association award for best columnist. I can now lay claim to being the best community newspaper columnist in B.C. It is truly an honour. In 2003 I captured third place at the Canadian Community Newspaper Association awards for best columnist and in 2004 I placed third. The first place win for the provincial association is truly special.
One of the things that makes it special is the fact that I grew up reading my father's columns. He was a newspaper editor and I remember the first thing we always read in the paper was his column.
He passed away in November, so it is sad that I could not share this award with him. However, one of the columns I submitted for the awards was the one I did about his death (Hands of a Father).
The other column that secured the Best Columnist Award was 'A gift that is truly unique' about Fetal Alchol Spectrum Disorder.
Both of these columns can be found in the Writer's Block spot on this blog.
In addition to my win, we here at the Free Press are also celebrating a first place finish for reporter Arthur Williams in the Best Business Writing category. His story on the feasibility of an inland port for Prince George was the winning entry.
We are also celebrating a second place finish in the Community Service category for Chris Shepherd. He was nominated for his work on saving a Christmas toy drive in Fort St. James - before he started here at the Free Press.