Texas Press Association members recognized three newspaper stalwarts as “Golden 50” journalists at TPA’s recent summer meeting in Houston.

J. Tom Graham of Frankston, Louis C. Stas of Wheeler and the late Wesley W. Burnett of Rockwall were awarded the Golden 50 designation for having worked in the newspaper industry for 50 years.

J. TOM GRAHAM

Graham’s newspaper career began at

the age of eight in Knox City. He remem-bers that he was offered a quarter for a day’s work, pulling the papers off the press, and that seemed like far better money and less work than the toil in the cotton fields that he had been used to.

He worked at the Knox City paper until he graduated high school in 1960. Graham graduated North Texas State in 1964 with a journalism degree. While attending school, he worked his way up to the position of city editor of the Denton Record Chronicle.

After graduation, Graham became the managing editor of the Gonzales Inquirer and then joined the Abilene Reporter News in 1966. He served as AP wire editor and later state editor before entering the Army in the fall of 1966.

In the Army, he served as news bureau chief of Pacific Stars and Stripes’ Korea bureau. He covered the North Korean attempt to assassinate South Korean President Park Chung-hee, as well as the Pueblo incident in 1968.

He also worked on Stars and Stripes in its Tokyo headquarters and as a corre-spondent in Vietnam. After his two-year service in the Army, he traveled through the Far East and spent a year with two Australian newspapers before return-ing to the U.S. and rejoining the Abilene Reporter News in November of 1969.

Next, he became the publisher of the Huntsville Item, where in 1974 he led a news team in covering the Carrasco pris-on hostage situation, which would later

earn the team a national press award and a nomination for the Pulitzer Prize.

After leaving Huntsville, Graham served as publisher in numerous cit-

ies, including Del Rio, Burnett, Mineola, Lindale and New Boston, Pasadena. Graham loved the challenge of getting community newspapers out of the red and making them relevant to their com-munities.

After taking the reins in Pasadena in 1998, he worked to merge Westward and HCN into one company. He became the chief operating officer for AP Westward, where he oversaw more than 60 newspa-pers around Houston, Austin, East Texas and Colorado.

Since 2006, he has been the owner and publisher of The Frankston Citizen.

Graham has served on numerous press association committees and has written several books, plays and songs.

LOUIS C. STAS

Louis Stas was born northwest of

Watonga, Okla., and received the first five and a half years of his education in a one-room schoolhouse, walking three miles to school each day. In 1949, he moved to a farm eight miles southeast of Geary, Okla., and attended school in Hinton, Okla.

After finishing his sophomore year in school, Stas took a job at The Hinton Record as a Linotype operator. For the next two years, he authored School Chatter, keeping everyone informed of what was going on at school.

In the fall of 1957, Stas enrolled at Oklahoma State University, formerly Oklahoma A&M, and worked at the O’Collegian as a Linotype operator while attending classes in an effort to obtain a degree in architecture. At the end of the summer in 1959, he married and returned to college with his bride. At the end of the first semester, they learned they were

TEXAS PRESS ASSOCIATION • TEXASPRESS.COM • JUNE 2013 • VOL 88 NO 6

Texas PressMESSENGER

Summer conventionphotos inside!PAGE 4

Top: James Burnett (son), Kim Dolberry (daughter), Tim Burnett (son) and Pat Burnett (wife) accept the Golden 50 Award on behalf of Wes Burnett from TPA President Russel Skiles. Left: J. Tom Graham says a few words to convention attendees after accepting the Golden 50 Award at the Saturday awards luncheon. Right: Louis C. Stas accepts the Golden 50 Award from TPA President Russel Skiles.

TPA honors three with Golden 50 Awards

CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

2 MESSENGER VOL 88 NO 6 JUNE 2013

It has been both a privilege and an honor to serve as your Texas Press Association president this past year.

I count it among the highest bless-ings I have received during a truly wonderful career in community jour-nalism.

Looking back, I can’t help but be amazed that it all got started with a pair of boots and jeans.

Yes, boots and jeans!That was my standard attire the

day I first walked into the journal-ism office at Angelo State University more than 36 years ago.

A rocky fall semester of my soph-omore year had ended any vague hopes I had of becoming an engineer. I returned to college that spring seek-ing a new path in life.

I unwittingly found it while sign-ing up for a photography course.

From his office across the hall, Dr. Harrison Youngren overheard my conversation with the journalism secretary about the course.

Seeing a country kid wearing boots and jeans, he immediately started talking about the need for people with rural, agriculture backgrounds in journalism.

Before I left, he had signed me up for his basic news writing class.

It has been a wonderful ride ever since.

A few short months later I was cutting my teeth in the business with a summer job as a reporter/photog-rapher for the Del Rio News-Herald.

A vacancy on the staff allowed me to cover everything from the police beat and commissioners’ court to a meeting with some of the state’s top brass. But the highlight for a 19-year-old boy, of course, was an interview with two members of the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders who came to town.

A required internship at the San Angelo Standard-Times saw me assigned to float down the Rio Grande on a raft in the Big Bend region.

What a gig! That was something my family regularly did for fun while I was growing up.

Yet I was still not certain about making a career in the newspaper

business when, a few months out of college, I accepted a job at the Lamesa Press-Reporter.

My plans to spend a couple of years there changed on the day I moved into a house on a cotton farm the company owned a few miles north of town.

It was early March. Fields were bare and the sand was blowing. Through newfound grit in my teeth, I silently vowed to stay only six months – maybe a year at best – before fleeing to truly greener pas-tures.

But I didn’t know what I had got-ten myself into.

I walked into a newspaper office where Walter Buckel was the pub-lisher and his son Bob was the editor. Both would eventually serve as presi-dents of the Texas Press Association.

Already a top-notch reporter and editor at a young age, Bob showed how it was done before leaving and turning over his office to me.

Walter – he remains Mr. Buckel to me – became my mentor and eventu-ally something of a second father.

Although lacking any formal training and getting into the busi-ness relatively late in life, Mr. Buckel was – and still is – a true leader in the field of community journalism.

He and his partner, the late James Roberts of Andrews, understood that a newspaper in a small town has a responsibility beyond just reporting the news.

They believed the interests of a newspaper and the community it covered went hand-in-hand, each helping determine the fate of the other.

Their model helped define com-munity journalism, and both are now in the Texas Newspaper Foundation Hall of Fame.

Another of Mr. Buckel’s philoso-phies had just as great an impact on my life. He knew that the best way to keep a young newcomer in town was to get him married to a local girl.

He did just that. Just a few months after I joined the staff, he hired a farm girl in the composition depart-ment who would eventually become my wife.

After more than 33 years at the Press-Reporter I can’t think of any better career than working at a small-town newspaper.

I’ve had the opportunity to cover everything from a future president’s visits to Lamesa to a wedding per-formed during halftime of a six-man football game.

But the greatest honor has been to serve as TPA president.

It has been in interesting and chal-lenging year for our association, with the end of the Texas Daily Newspaper Association, ongoing plans to sell our building in Austin, numerous issues with the state Legislature, and a move to electronic submission of newspaper contest entries.

The greatest joy and privilege I’ve had this past year has been to get to know so many of the wonderful people working at newspapers, both large and small, across the state.

You, the members, are what truly make the Texas Press Association such a great organization.

The newspaper industry in Texas is indeed a true family. We’re all in this together. Whether at a large metropolitan daily or a small rural weekly, we face many of the same challenges and enjoy similar achieve-ments.

I can’t imagine any field where there is more cooperation – where everyone is not only eager to help each other but where having some-one steal (use) one of your ideas is nothing short of flattery.

Thank you for allowing me to be involved with such a great organiza-tion – with such a great family!

RamblingRussel SkilesTPA PRESIDENT2012-2013

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Austin, TX 78759(512) 477-6755 phone

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2012-2013TPA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

OFFICERSPresident Russel Skiles, Lamesa Press-Reporter; First Vice President Greg Shrader, Lufkin Daily News; Second Vice President Randy Mankin, Eldorado Success; Treasurer Glenn Rea, Cuero

Record; Chairman Chad Ferguson, Banner Press Newspaper

BOARD MEMBERSElected: Bill Crist, Snyder Daily News; Sue

Brown, Pleasanton Express; Brandi Guy, Thorndale Champion; Brett McCormick, Vernon

Daily Record; Chad Engbrock, Wylie NewsAppointed: Jeff Berger, Hondo Anvil Herald;

Mark Henry, Mexia News; Melissa Perner, Ozona Stockman; Ken Esten Cooke, Fredericksburg

Standard-Radio Post; Roger Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise; Randy Keck, Community News;

Hank Hargrave, Normangee Star; Patrick Canty, Odessa American

Regional Presidents: Mark Engebretson, Lake Country Sun, NETPA; Wanda Brooks, Moore

County News-Press, PPA; Cyndy Slovak-Barton, Hays Free Press, STPA; Danny Reneau, Silsbee Bee, TGCPA; Mark Engebretson, Lake Country

Sun, WTPARegional Vice Presidents: Don Treul,

Tri County Leader, NETPA; Jeff Blackmon, County Star-News, PPA; Larry Hauk, Copperas

Cove Leader-Press, STPA; Tania French, Port Lavaca Wave, TGCPA; Lisa Davis, Wise County

Messenger, WTPA

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Volume 88 — Issue No. 6JUNE 2013

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Skiles’ last ‘Rambling’ as TPA president

MESSENGER VOL 88 NO 6 JUNE 2013 3

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Chris Cobler, editor of the Victoria Advocate, has received the Frank W. Mayborn Award for Community Leadership from the Texas Press Association.

Cobler, editor of the Advocate for six years, accepted the award at the association’s summer meeting in Houston.

Cobler is treasurer of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas and is a board member of the national Associated Press Media Editors association. He also was a founding member of the Victoria Independent School District Education Foundation.

In 2005, Cobler was selected to participate in a Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University, which he

completed in 2006. Under his leader-ship, the newsroom of the Advocate has won more than 200 state and national journalism awards.

“Chris is deeply connected to the community,” said Dan Easton, pub-lisher of the Advocate. “Whether it is moderating a Habitat for Humanity event, holding a town hall meeting on newspaper credibil-ity, or posting video from the local high school football game, the com-munity looks to Chris, his team, and our newspaper to be connected to and informed about the community.

“Chris is a tremendous leader and a passionate advocate for com-munity journalism,” Easton con-tinued. “He has been responsible for the development of numerous journalism careers that started out working with him. Despite his long tenure in the industry, his passion is as strong as ever, and it is reflect-ed in his work.”

Cobler, a journalism graduate of the University of Kansas, worked at newspapers in Kansas, Colorado, South Dakota and Denton before joining the Advocate in 2007.

The Frank W. Mayborn Award for Community Leadership has been awarded annually since 1992 to a publisher or newspaper executive who contributed most significantly to society during the past year.

Cobler wins Community Leadership Award

For the fifth time in his career, vet-eran sportswriter Barry Horn of The Dallas Morning News has won the Fred Hartman Award for excellence in sports writing.

Horn accepted the award at the sum-mer meeting of Texas Press Association. Jeff Wick, editor of the Fayette Record and last year’s Hartman Award winner, was this year’s judge.

“In Horn’s collection of stories, almost every piece transcended the world of sports into more universal themes that even non-sports fans could be drawn into,” Wick wrote in his judge’s notes.

“From compelling features on every-one from Baylor women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey to Duncanville High star-turned Olympic high-jumper Brigetta Barrett, the detail (even from events that occurred decades ago) and multitude of sources in Horn’s stories, show his expertise as a reporter.

For instance, Horn not only tells the

reader that Barrett used to miss track meets to attend poetry and singing com-petitions, but he even quotes lyrics she sang at a competition.

“And Horn knows the difference between just adding detail for detail’s sake, and adding nuggets that truly add to a story.

His witty phrasing shows he’s the writ-er to match that reporting ability.

He took a feature about the University of Texas-Arlington’s new basketball arena, and turned it into a grand obituary to the old gym/theater building that new arena was replacing.

“For his story about the 40th anniver-sary of Title IX gender equality in sports, he took a subject that could have been bogged down by facts and figures and instead interwove the pre-Title IX strug-gles of one of the nation’s most legendary high school coaches (Leta Andrews) into the tale. Every story submitted by a Horn was a joy to read.”

Each year the Fred Hartman Award competition alternates between two fixed circulation breaks: newspapers over 10,000 and those under 10,000. This year the contest was open to journalists cur-rently employed with a Texas newspaper over 10,000 in circulation.

The award is sponsored annually by Hartman Newspapers, a family-owned company started by the late Fred Hartman.

Hartman began his newspaper career as a sportswriter, and although he even-tually became a publisher and newspa-per company owner, the senior Hartman never lost his passion for sportswriting. The award includes $1,000 in prize money.

Horn wins Hartman Sportswriting Award

4 MESSENGER VOL 88 NO 6 JUNE 2013

HOUSTON - Two Texas newspa-pers have been honored with the prestigious Nancy Monson Spirit of FOI Award for their in-depth reporting that promoted freedom of information and open govern-ment.

Presented by the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas and the Texas Press Association, the annual award was given Saturday to The Dallas Morning News in Class AAA and the Corpus Christi Caller-Times in Class AA.

The Dallas Morning News won recognition for its work by reporters Reese Dunklin and Sue Goetinck Ambrose uncovering the lavish spending of Dr. Kern Wildenthal, who served as presi-dent of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Through a lengthy investigation using records obtained under the Texas Public Information Act, the News detailed Wildenthal’s ques-tionable spending on such items as overseas trips, opera and wine. He ultimately resigned his uni-versity positions and was asked to

repay some of the expenses.The Corpus Christi Caller-

Times received the Class AA award for its numerous reports by Rick Spruill on the complex issue of windstorm insurance. By attending public meetings and obtaining records using the Texas Public Information Act, Spruill educated coastal homeown-ers about the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, an agency often shrouded in secrecy. Spruill detailed his findings in more than 80 stories in 2012. Documents he uncovered led to reporting on the state insurance commissioner’s travel expenses and the intrica-cies of identifying and spreading risk in insurance pools.

The Nancy Monson Spirit of FOI Award is named for the FOI Foundation’s former executive director, a longtime advocate for open government and the First Amendment. The award was pre-sented to the two newspapers at the Texas Press Association’s summer leadership meeting in Houston.

Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas joins Texas Press Association in presenting Spirit of FOI Award

Left: FOIFT Vice President Diana Fuentes, publisher of the Del Rio News-Herald, presents Allison Pollan, managing editor of the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, with a Spirit of FOI Award. Right: FOIFT Executive Director Kelley Shannon announces the winners of the Spirit of FOI Award.

Photos from the TPA Newspaper Leadership RetreatJune 20-22 | Houston, TX

Regina Keilers, publisher of The Fayette County Record, wins $20 during a roundtable session.

Ramona “Bebo” Ferguson (left), The Banner Press Newspaper; Carrie Rea, The Cuero Record; and Joyce Hauk, Copperas Cove Leader-Press at the Astros game at Minute Maid Park.

MESSENGER VOL 88 NO 6 JUNE 2013 5

Clockwise from top left:

Past TPA President Chad Ferguson, publisher of The Banner Press Newspaper, and TPA President Russel Skiles, publisher of the Lamesa Press-Reporter, say goodbye after the June 22 awards luncheon.

TPA First Vice President Greg Shrader, publisher of The Lufkin Daily News, waits his turn to tee off on June 20 at the 2013 Robert Burns Classic, the 15th annual golf tournament benefiting the Texas Newspaper Foundation, at Tour 18 in Houston.

Gilbert Hoffman, publisher of the Highlands Star-Crosby Courier, peruses the Museum of Printing History in Houston on June 21.

Mark and Paula Campbell of the Springtown Epigraph and Azle News and Randy Keck, publisher of The Community News, watch the Astros play at Minute Maid Park on June 20.

TPA Treasurer Glenn Rea, publisher of The Cuero Record, assists the tour guide and museum artist-in-residence, Charles Criner, with a demonstration at the Museum of Printing History in Houston on June 21.

6 MESSENGER VOL 88 NO 6 JUNE 2013

2013 NETPABetter Newspaper Contest ResultsDivision 1

ADVERTISING1st Place: Texarkana Gazette2nd Place: Lufkin News3rd Place: Paris News

COLUMN WRITING1st Place: Paris News2nd Place: Lufkin News3rd Place: Texarkana Gazette4th Place: Herald Democrat

EDITORIALS1st Place: Texarkana Gazette

FEATURE STORY1st Place: Texarkana Gazette2nd Place: Herald Democrat3rd Place: Lufkin News4th Place: Paris News

HEADLINE WRITING1st Place: The Paris News2nd Place: Texarkana Gazette3rd Place: The Lufkin News

PAGE DESIGN1st Place: Texarkana Gazette2nd Place: Paris News3rd Place: Lufkin News

NEWS WRITING1st Place: Texarkana Gazette2nd Place: Lufkin News3rd Place: Paris News4th Place: Herald Democrat

SPORTS COVERAGE1st Place: Paris News2nd Place: Texarkana Gazette3rd Place: Lufkin News

FEATURE PHOTO1st Place: Texarkana Gazette2nd Place: Lufkin News3rd Place: Paris News

NEWS PHOTO1st Place: Lufkin News2nd Place: Paris News

SPORTS PHOTO1st Place: Lufkin News2nd Place: Paris News

SPECIAL SECTION1st Place: Lufkin Daily News2nd Place: Paris News3rd Place: Texarkana Gazette

JOURNALISTS OF THE YEAR1st Place: Jessica Cooley – Lufkin News2nd Place: William Wadsack – Herald Democrat3rd Place: Lynne LaRowe – Texarkana Gazette4th Place: Krista Goerte – Paris News

PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR1st Place: Texarkana Gazette/Evan Lewis2nd Place: Lufkin News/Andy Adams3rd Place: Paris News/Sam Craft

COMMUNITY SERVICE1st Place: Texarkana Gazette2nd Place: Lufkin News3rd Place: Paris News

GENERAL EXCELLENCE1st Place: Lufkin News2nd Place: Texarkana Gazette3rd Place: Paris News

SWEEPSTAKES1st Place: Texarkana Gazette, 1,025 points2nd Place: Lufkin News, 925 points3rd Place: Paris News,850 points4th Place: Herald Democrat,125 points

Division 2

ADVERTISING1st Place: Athens Daily Review

COLUMN WRITING1st Place: Stephenville Empire-Tribune/Sara Berge2nd Place: Henderson Daily News/Matthew Prosser3rd Place: Athens Daily Review/Rich Flowers4th Place: Daily Sentinel/ Ashley Smith

EDITORIALS[no entries]

FEATURE STORY1st Place: Henderson Daily News/Matthew Prosser & Rachel Riley2nd Place: Daily Sentinel/ Paul Bryant3rd Place: Athens Daily Review/Jayson Larson & Rich Flowers4th Place: Stephenville Empire-Tribune/Amanda Kimble & Donnie Bryant

HEADLINE WRITING1st Place: Athens Daily Review2nd Place: Henderson Daily News3rd Place: Stephenville Empire-Tribune

PAGE DESIGN1st Place: Daily Sentinel2nd Place: Athens Daily Review

NEWS WRITING[no entries]

SPORTS COVERAGE1st Place: Stephenville Empire-Tribune2nd Place: Athens Daily Review

FEATURE PHOTO1st Place: Daily Sentinel2nd Place: Athens Daily Review3rd Place: Henderson Daily News

NEWS PHOTO1st Place: Daily Sentinel2nd Place: Athens Daily Review3rd Place: Henderson Daily News4th Place: Stephenville Empire-Tribune

SPORTS PHOTO1st Place: Stephenville Empire-Tribune2nd Place: Daily Sentinel3rd Place: Athens Daily Review

SPECIAL SECTION1st Place: Daily Sentinel2nd Place: Athens Daily Review3rd Place: Stephenville Empire-Tribune

JOURNALISTS OF THE YEAR1st Place: Paul Bryant – Daily Sentinel2nd Place: Rich Flowers – Athens Review3rd Place: Matthew Prosser – Henderson Daily News4th Place: Sara Berge – Ste-phenville Empire-Tribune

PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR1st Place: Daily Sentinel – Andrew Brosig

COMMUNITY SERVICE[no entries]

GENERAL EXCELLENCE1st Place: Daily Sentinel2nd Place: Stephenville Empire-Tribune3rd Place: Athens Daily Review

SWEEPSTAKES1st Place: Athens Daily Review2nd Place: Nacogdoches Daily Sentinal3rd Place: Stephenville Empire-Tribune4th Place: Henderson Daily News

Division 3

ADVERTISING1st Place: The Light & The Champion2nd Place: Hood County News3rd Place: Wise County Mes-senger4th Place: Graham Leader

COLUMN WRITING1st Place: Kilgore News-Herald – Mike Simpson2nd Place: Hood County News – Mark Wilson3rd Place: Wise County Messenger – Kristen Tribe4th Place: Burleson Star – Brian Porter

EDITORIALS1st Place: Burleson Star2nd Place: Hood County News3rd Place: Wise County Messenger4th Place: Breckenridge American

FEATURE STORY1st Place: Wise County Messenger – Brandon Evans and Erika Pedroza2nd Place: Hood County News – Rick Mauch and Mark Wilson3rd Place: Kilgore NewsHerald -Austin King and James Draper4th Place: Graham Leader – Gay Storms5th Place: Burleson Star – Julissa Trevino and Brian Porter

HEADLINE WRITING1st Place: Kilgore News Herald2nd Place: Wise County Messenger3rd Place: Breckenridge American4th Place: Graham Leader

PAGE DESIGN1st Place: Hood County News2nd Place: Wise County Messenger3rd Place: Kilgore News-Herald4th Place: Breckenridge American

NEWS WRITING1st Place: Wise County Messenger2nd Place: Hood County News3rd Place: Kilgore News Herald

SPORTS COVERAGE1st Place: Wise County Messenger2nd Place: Hood County News3rd Place: Kilgore News Herald

FEATURE PHOTO1st Place: Wise County Messenger2nd Place: Hood County News3rd Place: Graham Leader4th Place: Burleson Star

NEWS PHOTO1st Place: Hood County News2nd Place: Wise County Messenger3rd Place: Graham Leader

SPORTS PHOTO1st Place: Wise County Messenger2nd Place: Burleson Star3rd Place: Hood County News4th Place: Kilgore News-Herald

SPECIAL SECTION1st Place: Kilgore News-Herald2nd Place: Wise County Messenger3rd Place: Hood County News4th Place: Graham Leader

JOURNALISTS OF THE YEAR1st Place: Kathy Cruz – Hood County News2nd Place: James Draper – Kilgore News Herald3rd Place: Brandon Evans – Wise County Messenger4th Place: Cherry Rushin – Graham Leader

CONTINUED ON PAGE 7

MESSENGER VOL 88 NO 6 JUNE 2013 7

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PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR1st Place: Hood County News – Mary Vinson2nd Place: Wise County Messenger – Joe Duty3rd Place: Breckenridge American – Rob Durham4th Place: Kilgore News Herald – James Draper

COMMUNITY SERVICE1st Place: Kilgore News-Herald2nd Place: Hood County News3rd Place: Graham Leader4th Place: Burleson Star

GENERAL EXCELLENCE1st Place: Hood County News2nd Place: Wise County Messenger3rd Place: Kilgore News Herald4th Place: Graham Leader

SWEEPSTAKES1st Place: Hood County News2nd Place: Wise County Messenger3rd Place: Kilgore News Herald4th Place: Graham Leader

Division 4

ADVERTISING1st Place: Wylie News2nd Place: Azle News3rd Place: Springtown Epigraph4th Place: Pittsburg Gazette

COLUMN WRITING1st Place: Azle News - Mark Campbell2nd Place: Mineola Monitor - Gary Edwards3rd Place: Winnsboro News - Linda Henry4th Place: Kaufman Herald - Loyd Cook

EDITORIALS1st Place: Winnsboro News2nd Place: Mount Vernon Optic-Herald3rd Place: Kaufman Herald4th Place: The Bee

FEATURE WRITING1st Place: Azle News – Chase Carter and Carla Stutsman2nd Place: Wylie News – Judy Truesdell3rd Place: Pittsburg Gazette – Kim Cox and Susan Taft4th Place: Mineola Monitor – Gary Edwards

HEADLINE WRITING1st Place: Springtown Epigraph2nd Place: Pittsburg Gazette3rd Place: Azle News4th Place: Mineola Monitor

PAGE DESIGN1st Place: Mineola Monitor2nd Place: Winnsboro News3rd Place: Pittsburg Gazette4th Place: Mount Vernon Optic-Herald

NEWS WRITING1st Place: Mount Vernon Optic-Herald2nd Place: Winnsboro News3rd Place: Springtown Epigraph4th Place: Mineola Monitor

SPORTS COVERAGE1st Place: Azle News2nd Place: Springtown Epigraph3rd Place: Mount Vernon Optic-Herald4th Place: Mineola Monitor

FEATURE PHOTO1st Place: Wylie News2nd Place: Mineola Monitor3rd Place: Azle News4th Place: Mount Vernon Optic-Herald

NEWS PHOTO1st Place: Mineola Monitor2nd Place: Azle News3rd Place: The Bee4th Place: Winnsboro News

SPORTS PHOTO1st Place: Mineola Monitor2nd Place: Azle News3rd Place: Springtown Epigraph4th Place: Wylie News

SPECIAL SECTION1st Place: Azle News2nd Place: Springtown Epigraph3rd Place: Wylie News4th Place: Pittsburg Gazette

JOURNALISTS OF THE YEAR1st Place: Gary Edwards – Mineola Monitor2nd Place: Bryan Giguere – Winnsboro News3rd Place: Lillie Bush-Reves – Mount Vernon Optic-News

PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR1st Place: Gary Edwards – Mineola Monitor2nd Place: Ross Hunter – Winnsboro News3rd Place: Chad Wilson – C-B Statesman

COMMUNITY SERVICE1st Place: Azle News2nd Place: Pittsburg Gazette3rd Place: Wylie News4th Place: Winnsboro News

GENERAL EXCELLENCE1st Place: Mineola Monitor2nd Place: Azle News3rd Place: Wylie News4th Place: Springtown Epigraph

SWEEPSTAKES1st Place: Azle News, 750 points2nd Place: Mineola Monitor, 675 points3rd Place: Wylie News, 450 points4th Place: Winnsboro, 375 points

Division 5

ADVERTISING1st Place: Dublin Citizen2nd Place: Tri County Leader3rd Place: Public I News4th Place: Pilot Point Post Signal

COLUMN WRITING1st Place: Pilot Point – David Lewis2nd Place: Glen Rose Reporter – Amanda Kimble3rd Place: Pilot Point – Richard Greene4th Place: Tri County Leader – Suzanne Loudamy

EDITORIALS1st Place: Pilot Point – David Lewis2nd Place: Lake County Sun – Mark Engebretson

FEATURE STORY1st Place: Lake Country Sun2nd Place: Tri County Leader3rd Place: Pilot Point Post-Signal4th Place: Farmersville Times

HEADLINE WRITING1st Place: The Farmersville Times2nd Place: Tri County Leader3rd Place: Pilot Point Post Signal4th Place: Glen Rose Record

PAGE DESIGN1st Place: Pilot Point Post-Signal2nd Place: Glen Rose Reporter3rd Place: Olney Enterprise4th Place: Tri County Leader

NEWS WRITING1st Place: Pilot Point Post-Signal2nd Place: Olney Enterprise3rd Place: Farmersville Times4th Place: Dublin Citizen

SPORTS COVERAGE1st Place: Tri County Leader2nd Place: Pilot Point Post Signal3rd Place: Glen Rose Reporter4th Place: Farmersville Times

FEATURE PHOTO1st Place: Pilot Point Post-Signal2nd Place: Lake Country Sun3rd Place: Farmersville Times4th Place: Muenster Enterprise

NEWS PHOTO1st Place: Farmersville Times2nd Place: Pilot Point Post-Signal3rd Place: Lake Country Sun4th Place: Olney Enterprise

SPORTS PHOTO1st Place: Farmersville Times2nd Place: Tri County Leader3rd Place: Lake Country Sun4th Place: Muenster Enterprise

SPECIAL SECTION1st Place: Glen Rose Reporter2nd Place: Pilot Point Post-Signal3rd Place: Farmerville Times4th Place: Muenster Enterprise

JOURNALISTS OF THE YEAR1st Place: Amanda Kimble – Glen Rose Reporter2nd Place: Paul Gaudette – Dublin Citizen3rd Place: Wyndi Veigel – Farmersville Times4th Place: Mindi Kimbro – Olney Enterprise

PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR1st Place: Mindi Kimbro – Olney Enterprise2nd Place: Mac McKinnon – Dublin Citizen3rd Place: Janie Hartman – Muenster Enterprise

COMMUNITY SERVICE1st Place: Farmersville Times2nd Place: Olney Enterprise

GENERAL EXCELLENCE1st Place: Glen Rose Reporter2nd Place: Tri County Leader3rd Place: Dublin Citizen4th Place: Olney Enterprise

SWEEPSTAKES1st Place: Pilot Point Post-Signal, 825 points2nd Place: Farmersville Times, 575 points3rd Place: Tri County Leader, 550 points4th Place: Lake Country Sun, 350 points

Division 6

GENERAL EXCELLENCE1st Place: Chandler-Brownsboro Statesman2nd Place: Sachse News3rd Place: Joshua Star4th Place: Gladewater Mirror

ADVERTISING1st Place: Big Sandy & Hawkins Journal2nd Place: Sachse News3rd Place: Chandler-Brownsboro Statesman4th Place: Gladewater Mirror

COLUMN WRITING1st Place: Bullard Banner News2nd Place: Princeton Herald3rd Place: Big Sandy & Hawkins Journal4th Place: Chandler-Brownsboro Statesman

EDITORIALS1st Place: Joshua Star

FEATURE STORY1st Place: Princeton Herald2nd Place: Chandler-Brownsboro Statesman3rd Place: Bullard Banner News4th Place: Joshua Star

HEADLINE WRITING1st Place: Chandler-Brownsboro Statesman2nd Place: The Princeton Herald3rd Place: Joshua Star4th Place: Big Sandy & Hawkins Journal

PAGE DESIGN1st Place: Princeton Herald2nd Place: Chandler-Brownsboro Statesman3rd Place: Joshua Star4th Place: Murphy Monitor

NEWS WRITING1st Place: Big Sandy & Hawkins Journal2nd Place: Joshua Star3rd Place: Chandler-Brownsboro Statesman4th Place: Sachse News

SPORTS COVERAGE1st Place: Chandler-Brownsboro Statesman2nd Place: Sasche News3rd Place: Murphy Monitor4th Place: Gladewater Mirror

FEATURE PHOTO1st Place: Crowley Star2nd Place: Deport Times/Blossom Times3rd Place: Chandler-Brownsboro Statesman4th Place: Big Sandy/Hawkins Star

NEWS PHOTO1st Place: Chandler-Brownsboro Statesman2nd Place: Big Sandy/Hawkins Star3rd Place: Deport/Blossom Times4th Place: Joshua Star

SPORTS PHOTO1st Place: Princeton Herald2nd Place: Sachse News3rd Place: Joshua Star4th Place: Chandler-Brownsboro Statesman

SPECIAL SECTION1st Place: Sachse News2nd Place: Chandler-Brownsboro Statesman3rd Place: Joshua Star4th Place: Princeton Herald

JOURNALISTS OF THE YEAR1st Place: Chad Wilson – Chandler-Brownsboro Statesman2nd Place: Jay Hinton – Crowley Star3rd Place: Seria Dassing – Big Sandy & Hawkins Journal

PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR1st Place: Brian Porter – Joshua Star

COMMUNITY SERVICE[no entries]

GENERAL EXCELLENCE1st Place: C-B Statesman2nd Place: Sachse News3rd Place: Joshua Star4th Place: Gladewater Mirror

SWEEPSTAKES1st Place: Chandler-Brownsboro Statesman, 775 points2nd Place: Princeton Herald, 450 points3rd Place: Joshua Star, 450 points4th Place: Big Sandy & Hawkins Journal,375 points

2013 NETPA Contest Results continued FROM PAGE 6

8 MESSENGER VOL 88 NO 6 JUNE 2013

going to be parents in September and took a job in Wheeler with the inten-tion of returning to school after one year. His boss at The Hinton Record recently had purchased The Wheeler Times and a Linotype operator was needed. Their move to Wheeler lasted more than one year: Feb. 1, 2013, marked 54 years.

In September 1962, the couple, now par-ents of two children, bought half interest in the Times with its Linotype, handset type, casting box, four-page press, folding machine for the paper and job presses. The most modern machine in the office was 1250W offset press that had been pur-chased rebuilt in 1961.

The July 18, 1963, edition of The Wheeler Times listed Stas as owner and publisher. Stas has been a reporter for the National Weather Service for the past 30 or so years. He also was the local reporter and shot film for KVII-TV Channel 7 in Amarillo for a short time.

Stas had interests other than the news-paper. There are several homes in and around Wheeler and elsewhere that he either designed completely or planned the remodeling. One office building and a

convenience store/gas station in Wheeler are his design.

In 1975, Stas became an EMT and served the county for 23 years. Louis was a member of the first graduating class of paramedics in the Texas Panhandle.

In April 1969, Stas was elected to the Wheeler City Council. He remained on the council and was elected mayor in 1992. In 2007, he was awarded a Lifetime Membership in the Wheeler Chamber of Commerce after more than 40 years of service and was named Wheeler’s 1981 Outstanding Man.

WESLEY W. BURNETT When Wesley W. Burnett died unex-

pectedly on March 28, 2013, it was the end of journalism career that started in the late 1950s.

Burnett spent two years working on the staff of The Screaming Eagle, the student newspaper at Brownsville High School. Little did he know it would be a precursor of his life’s work.

Burnett attended Texas A&M, where he majored in journalism. He joined the Air Force in 1961. After basic train-ing, he was stationed at military bases in

Texas, California, Washington, Alabama, Nebraska and Oregon. Throughout most of his military career, he worked as an information officer and was heavily involved with the base newspapers.

In 1973, Burnett left the military and took a job with the Bryan Daily Eagle. After a year with the Harte-Hanks paper, he transferred to the corpora-tion’s Hamilton, Ohio, publication, The Journal-News.

Burnett next took a job at a paper in New Iberia, La., and followed that by part-nering with two acquaintances to start up a weekly newspaper. It would be another year before Burnett returned to Texas, moving to Sonora to be a part of West-Com Inc., which owned and operated weekly publications throughout the state.

As West-Com added newspapers, Burnett was charged with revamping the struggling publications. He spent two and a half years at The Devil’s River News in Sonora and worked with both the Stephenville Star and The Dublin Progress for two years. That was followed by a stint at The Ballinger Ledger.

“He enjoyed flipping papers; going in and taking a paper, building it up and making it successful,” his son, James

Burnett, said. “And he was really good at it.”

While in Ballinger, Burnett decided it was time to strike out on his own. In 1982, the family moved to Post and took over The Post Dispatch. Burnett dedicated the next 26 years to the South Plains weekly publication.

“He loved writing,” Kimberly Dolberry said of her father. “When he sold adver-tising, he was one of the best. He was a salesman, he did photography, he did darkroom work, but he loved writing.”

While in Post, Burnett used local cable access to deliver live broadcasts of Post High School sports, as well as community news and rebroadcasts of local govern-ment meetings.

“In a way, he was pioneering some-thing that many other small communities weren’t doing at the time,” Burnett’s wife, Pat, said. “He was always looking ahead.”

In 2008, Burnett decided he wanted a new challenge. The Dispatch was sold and the Burnett family moved to Rockwall, where he took over another weekly, the Rockwall County News. He remained active with the publication until his death.

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Rollie Hyde handles Texas, the Southwest and Plains StatesRollie D. Hyde | 405.735.7394 | rhyde@att.net

FROM PAGE 1

Graham, Stas and Burnett honored for years of service