IMMEDIATE FEBRUARY 10, 2004

ABAC NEWSPAPER NAMED BEST IN STATE

TIFTON--The student newspaper at Abraham Baldwin College has once again been named the best among all two-year colleges in Georgia. The Stallion received a total of 24 Two-Year Division awards at the recent Georgia College Press Association (GCPA) Better Newspaper Conference in Macon.

In addition to winning first place for General Excellence, signifying the overall best newspaper of the year in the Two-Year Division, for the second year in a row The Stallion received no less than a second place win in each of the contest’s eight general award categories.

“I am simply inspired by the commitment our students show each semester,” Eric Cash, ABAC’s Director of Student Media, said. “Along with their compatriots at Gainesville, Floyd, and the other two-year colleges in the state, our students are pushing the edge of the envelope of college journalism in Georgia, and they are succeeding remarkably. Our two-year schools are achieving many of the goals that not long ago people thought only the four-year colleges were capable of.”

The awards spanned the Spring 2003 and Fall 2003 semesters.

General awards included first place for Best News, Best Editorials, Best Features, General Photography, and Layout and Design, and second place for Best Sports, Advertising, and Improvement.

In individual categories, The Stallion claimed 15 awards, nine of which then editor John David Sumner of Tifton claimed.

Johanna Anderson of Macon won first place for Best Objective News Article. Mariana Quiroga of Montevideo, Uruguay, and Sumner earned first place for Best Entertainment Feature. Sumner also won first place for Best News Photograph, Best Editorial/Feature Photograph, and Best Sports Photograph.

Second place awards went to Mary Grace Cary of Sylvester for Best Investigative/Interpretive Article, John Rodman of Albany for Best Objective News Story, Josh Morey of Tifton for Best Sports Story, Anderson for Best Column, and Sumner for Best Entertainment Feature.

Jake Martin of Irwinville won third place for Best Sports Story, and Sumner earned third place awards for Best Objective News Article, Best Editorial/Feature Photograph, Best Sports Photograph, and Best Entertainment Feature.

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Stallion Awards Page 2 of 2

Sumner said he was pleased and somewhat surprised by the results.

“Every year the competition keeps getting better, and this year was no exception,” Sumner said. “But thanks to the hard work, determination, and talent of the staff, we were able to raise the bar and show everyone why The Stallion is the best in the state.”

The Fall 2003 staff included Sumner, managing editor; Cary, news editor; Wendy Luke of Adel, business manager; Larius Johnson of Tifton, sports editor; Joe Scott Childs of Doerun and Quiroga, entertainment editors; Anderson, assistant news editor; and Lyndsae Overstreet of Tifton, ad rep.

The Spring 2003 staff included Rodman and Sumner, co-editors; Cary, news editor; Beth Phillips of Douglas, business manager; Morey, sports editor; Jess Barrios of Tifton, entertainment editor; and Luke, ad rep.

The Compass, Gainesville College’s newspaper, placed second overall in the Two-Year Division, while The Six Mile Post, Floyd College’s newspaper, took third. This is the third consecutive year that ABAC’s newspaper has earned a first-place overall win.

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