Watauga Democrat writers

take home awards

in state contest
By Scott Nicholson
nicholson@wataugademocrat.com

Two members of the Watauga Democrat news staff took home awards from the North Carolina Press Association during last week’s awards ceremony honoring excellence in the state’s newspapers.

News editor Frank Ruggiero and sports editor Steve Behr won for their work in the Class C Community Division, which includes community papers with a weekly combined circulation of more than 10,000.

Ruggiero took third place for his story on Peter Petschauer in the “Facing Memories of War” series. The three-part series documented Petschauer’s research of his father’s role as an officer in the Nazi Schutzstaffel (SS), the infamous unit associated with Nazi war crimes.

Ruggiero weaved Petschauer’s discoveries with personal reflections to deliver a powerful lesson on family and world history.

“It’s nice to be recognized for telling a story,” Ruggiero said. “When someone enjoys reading it enough to offer an award, well, that’s even nicer. When it comes down to it, though, I’m glad to have had the opportunity to tell this particular story, and I thank Dr. Petschauer for his willingness to reflect on such a personal, emotional topic.”

Behr won third place for his story “Shocking Victory,” about Appalachian State University’s upset of Wichita State University in a nationally televised “bracket buster” basketball game.

ESPN set up the game series to match mid-major colleges in a home-and-away series to create exposure and bring competitive games to its audience.

“It was a terrific game,” Behr said of ASU’s 60-58 road win. “It was one of the best games I’ve ever covered. It was exciting from start to finish. It was the kind of atmosphere I hope ASU’s gym can have one day. There were 10,000 fans wearing black and gold, and they weren’t ASU fans.”

Behr said even after winning 10 earlier press association awards, having his work noticed by peers was still fresh and exciting. “It’s always nice,” he said.

“There’s no such thing as ‘Been there, done that.’ We enter them for a reason, and it is always nice to be recognized.”

“Given the fact that the North Carolina contest is one of the largest in the U.S., this is an extraordinary achievement,” editor Jason Reagan said.

“Given some of our newer hires and some changes we have made and will be making in terms of coverage and online features, I believe this year’s winnings were only the tip of the iceberg.”

“I am very proud of the awards Frank and Steve received from the North Carolina Press Association for their abilities as writers,” Watauga Democrat publisher Tommy Wilson said.

“While they won for particular stories, we and the readers know them as reporters who produce this type of writing week after week.”

The Avery Journal-Times, a sister publication of the Democrat, also won third place in the community service category for its efforts to fund drug-sniffing dogs for the county sheriff’s department.

“In the best tradition of crusading newspapers, the Avery Journal Times saw a need … and set out to fill it by sponsoring a fundraising drive to get the dogs for the county,” the judges wrote.

“Over six months through its pages, the paper consistently urged citizens to contribute, raising $26,000 to acquire two dogs and train them and their handlers.”

The NCPA Photographer of the Year award, named for the late Hugh Morton, founder of Grandfather Mountain, went to Ethan Hyman of the Raleigh News and Observer (daily division) and Derek Anderson of the Durham Independent Weekly (community division).

The contest also yielded several awards for alumni of Appalachian State’s journalism program.

In addition to Ruggiero, who graduated in 2003, four alumni won eight awards including Brad Norman, Jessica Norman, Justin Boulmay and Anna Oakes.