JEKYLL ISLAND, Ga. — A photo of Augusta University basketball coach Dip Metress cutting down the net after the Jaguars won the Peach Belt championship in 2023, a photo essay of a drumline competition and a sports feature on a local wheelchair athlete received first place awards at the Georgia Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest at the Jekyll Island Club Hotel June 7.
Photographer Mike Adams brought home a total of eight awards in addition to the two first place finishes. He swept the sports feature category winning first, second and third; he won second and third in sports photograph; he won first and third for the inaugural Wiener Fest in photo essay; and third for feature photo.
Publisher Charmain Z. Brackett placed first in the sports feature category with her story on Grovetown’s Dr. Lisa Maddox, an amputee who has played multiple wheelchair sports at an international level. That story ran with photos by Mike Adams.
It was a banner week for Augusta Good News.
On Wednesday, June 5, the Greater Augusta Arts Council named its annual award winners with Augusta Good News winning in the media category. Honorees are nominated by members of the community and voted on by a panel. The award will be presented June 20 at a banquet at the Savannah Rapids Pavilion.
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Congratulations, Mike Adams. Great to see the role of the photojournalist is still valued in a time where — sadly — the selfie is regarded as the high watermark in photography.
Congratulations Charmain! I’m so proud of you for all you’re doing.