Avon QB Connor Lavore (9) ran for 100 yards, a touchdown and a successful two-point converston to help the Falcons get past Lewis Mills, 26-25. The Collinsville Press’ story on the game won a first place award from the Connecticut chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.
The Collinsville Press was recognized by the Connecticut chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists with two awards in the 2022 Excellence in Journalism competition.
Editor and website founder Gerry deSimas, Jr., was recognized with a first-place award for sports news in Regional B, which includes smaller newspapers in the state and larger websites and a first place award for sports news in the hyperlocal division, which features websites that focus on local coverage.
He won a first place in Regional B for the story on the Connecticut Sun rallying to beat the Chicago Sky in game 5 and earn a spot in the 2022 WNBA finals. Chicago led by nine points with 4:49 remaining before the Sun closed out the game with the final 18 points of the game to win the best-of-5 semifinal series on the road.
He also won first place in the hyperlocal category for his story on the Avon High football team forcing a turnover and scoring a touchdown in the final three minutes to beat Lewis Mills, 26-25 on a chilly Thanksgiving week contest in Burlington.
It’s the eighth time in the last 11 years that the Collinsville Press has been honored by SPJ with an award.
The 2022 Excellence in Journalism contest received hundreds of entries.
The Hearst Connecticut Media Group was awarded two top awards for stories examining the use of force in schools and wrongdoing by state police troopers.
The Stephen A. Collins Public Service Award, which is given for a story or stories noted as having a significant impact in the public interest was awarded to the team of Emilie Munson, Matt Rocheleau, Alex Putterman, Libby Seline and Alexandra Kanik. Their series examined how schools use physical restraints and isolation on students, sometimes resulting in injury and death.
The Theodore Driscoll Award for Investigative Reporting went to investigative reporter Bill Cummings for his stories highlighting wrongdoing by the Connecticut State Police. Cummings uncovered that four state troopers were found by the agency’s own internal investigators to have written fake traffic tickets. Instead of facing criminal charges, two of the troopers retired while the other two were suspended for a few days and transferred to new units.
Hearst Connecticut Media includes nine daily newspapers, including the Connecticut Post, New Haven Register, Stamford Advocate, Journal Inquirer in Manchester and Danbury News Times, more than a dozen weekly publications along with the CTInsider.com website and Connecticut Magazine.
The First Amendment award went to NBC 30 reporters Len Besthoff, David Mulligan, Garett Allison, Katherine Loy for their story on getting records and information from the Connecticut State Police.
