Caudell Earns Two N.C. Press Awards

On Feb. 12, Justin Caudell, the Western Carolinian’s Editor-in-Chief, received two awards from the North Carolina Press Association at the 2008 News, Editorial and Photojournalism contest held at the Embassy Suites near Raleigh.

Caudell took home an award in the General Sports Reporting and Sports Feature Writing categories. He received the awards for work he completed as the Sports Editor for the Crossroads Chronicle newspaper in Cashiers, North Carolina.

The General Sports Reporting award was for articles completed which covered the Jackson County Board of Education invoking a pay to play fee on Jackson County Public School athletes wishing to participate on an athletic team during the 2008-2009 school year. The Sports Feature Writing award covered articles where Caudell produced a series of stories that reported on the accolades of Blue Ridge High School athletes who had their jersey retired and what they had accomplished since they left the school.

The awards Caudell received on Feb. 12 brought his lifetime total to four. He received a General News Reporting award in 2004 and 2007 as a Weather Reporter for the Chronicle.

(A Complete List of the Awards Given Out in Raleigh can be found on www.ncpress.com)