Place Name: First Place Contestant Name: Buffalo - Wright County Journal-Press Entry Title: Community Corner Entry Credit: Shelby Hulstein Judge Comment: Writing for every issue is hard, but Britta makes it seem easy. She presents stories and ideas but connects them to her readers. I would read her column every issue.
Place Name: Second Place Contestant Name: Ely - Ely Echo Entry Title: In the Front Row Entry Credit: Tom Coombe Judge Comment: When you are judging a contest and see half page entries, you sigh a little. John had me from the first entry. I don't know how he knows so many and so much but he seems very connected to his community and readership. He is right where I would want him.
Place Name: Third Place Contestant Name: Grand Rapids Herald Review Entry Title: I miss coffee shops; The grass is greener where the hay is; Everybody matters someone Entry Credit: Emily Carlson Judge Comment: Emily has a way of putting you at ease from the first word. She presents herself as one of us and connects with every story. She is a pleasant Island in a sea of writers.
Competition Comment: When I started checking my assignments and saw how many there were, I was a bit apprehensive. This could be very tedious. I'm not sure if you just grow so many good columnists in Minnesota or if you have acquired them, but you have them. The tricky part was choosing 1,2 and 3. they could have gone 2, 3 and 1 or 3, 1 and 2. As a Publisher I found myself thinking: "Where were these when I was hiring?" You have a profound number of good writers.