Each year around this time, results from the North Dakota Professional Communicators contest come around. In December, I gather my contest pieces and hope I’ve chosen some of my best work. I am not always a worthy judge of my own pieces. Which is why it’s interesting to see what others, the real judges, deem worthy of praise.
Typically, each spring, we have an awards banquet and learn how well our work fared in the contest. Even after hearing the results, we learn the winners and categories, not finding out which pieces won, or how they were judged, until later. I received my envelope with my winning certificates the day after the online banquet this year.
By far, my favorite part of this contest is reviewing the judge’s comments. As I took time to read through each one, reviewing with interest which pieces made the cut and which didn’t, I was often surprised. Some of the pieces I thought were my best didn’t get as far as I had hoped, and others which I wasn’t so sure about rose to the top. I realize the results are impacted by many factors, such as quality of other entries, how many were entered in each category, subjectivity of the judges, etc. This is a human process after all. But at the very least, it offers professional feedback to which I would not otherwise have access, especially as a freelance writer without a traditional working environment.
I have been writing for The Forum for many years, and have never been acknowledged through the North Dakota Newspaper Association contest in which their staff writers are featured. Either my work isn’t worthy, or it’s not entered. Even when I was officially on staff, I’ve never been recognized in the contest connected to the paper. I mention this mainly because, if I am ever to get any professional feedback, I have to pursue it myself. And that can be a very humbling endeavor.
Being so close to the work, how can I be truly objective about it? Am I really choosing my best work to submit, or only the pieces that personally meant more to me than others?
Either way, I get to this portion of the year, and am intrigued to see how it all fleshed out. This year, I feel especially grateful for the results. Part of that is because this year has been one of the most difficult in my personal life. Despite being public in my work, and often sharing things of a personal nature, a lot remains private, and only God truly knows all. Which is why taking the time to pause here is so valuable, and why this review of my year has been somewhat healing. Despite the arduous climb in my personal life, it is good to see that, perhaps, through it all, something mattered. Something stuck. That despite extreme duress in moments this past year, something got accomplished. Something that, perhaps, made a difference to someone.
It’s just one indicator of God’s grace, and how he lifts us up despite the sufferings we experience. This isn’t the only measuring stick I use, but it is one that helps me know that not all has been darkness. That somehow, despite great challenge, I pushed through. I made my deadlines. I talked to amazing people and got to hear their stories about how God has changed their lives. And I had the privilege of passing on pieces of these stories to others.
I’ve been reminded here what a privilege it is to hear others’ stories, and to live life with a keen eye and heart on God. I am blessed to be able to do this not just in my everyday life, but in my professional life as well. It is an honor to work in the vineyard through communicating the movements of God in people’s lives, and sharing those with the world.
And so, as I share these pieces, and some of the judges’ comments, here, I want to emphasize that it is not to boast, but to make an account of this privilege and remind myself that it is not all bad, after all.
In addition to several first-place entries, which will go onto the national competition, results of which will be announced next month at the National Federation of Press Women annual conference in Cincinnati, I earned the most points overall in the state competition, leading to first place in the Sweepstakes tally. This is my second Sweepstakes first-place win in this organization, and I am grateful to be counted among the other communicators who do amazing work!
Thanks for indulging me here. I am posting this mainly for my mom, who is always interested in my work no matter what, and so that I won’t forget that God can bring light to darkness, revealing the diamonds in the rough.
First place entries:
February 11: Barb Schramm profile “A wing and a prayer”
Judge’s comments: “Masterfully written; excellent word choice doesn’t just tell the story but helps the reader visualize it. Great transition and wrap-up at the end.”
March 25: St. Monica’s Montessori preschool
Judge’s comments: “Thank you for the great knowledge and detail of how the Montessori system works and how that system is integrated into St. Monica’s and their educational mission. I would have liked to have seen some clarification on how students are evaluated on their progress academically and how the investment/training in the Montessori system ‘pays off’ at the high school or collegiate level.”
April 8: Fr. Dale Kinzler: Three feet from death
Judge’s comments: “Very engaging article that was well-organized and easy to read.”
May 13: A saint’s story merges with Fargo faithful
Judge’s comments: “Remarkable story – and remarkably complex. Good job simplifying the details and timeline as much as possible to make for a smooth read. Difficult category to judge but think the unique nature of the story and the more widespread impact of this subject matter makes it the winner.”
August 27: What Would Monica Do? (book)
Judge’s comments: “Interesting and well written book. Nice flow and conversational style to the writing. As a non-Catholic, I found the book interesting and informative. I thought the book title was fitting of a religious book. Good job!”
September 23: “Sanctified” preview
Judge’s comments: “Good background on the people and settings. Could have used a little more detail on the process of movie making. Otherwise the writing was well crafted and interesting.”
November 25: First Lutheran Church turns 150
Judge’s comments: “Well planned and organized. The supporting stories for each section helped to give a well-rounded picture of the history and community. Ending the piece with a look to the future elevated it beyond just a stagnant history and made the piece more dynamic.”
December: K.I.S.S.: The King Invites us to Simply Surrender (speech)
Judge’s comments: “This is a well thought through speech with a strong theme throughout. Nice job!”
December 19: Christmas Miracle
Judge’s comments: “A nice, to-the-point story. This was well-written and clear message from a descriptive tragedy with a hopeful conclusion. Well done!”
December 23: Dennis Narlock profile
Judge’s comments: “Great narrative – it was fun to read through the journey of Mr. Narlock’s struggles and resolution. I would have liked to have seen more about his time in California, but maybe that’s just me.”
Second place entries:
January 3: Anne Rice death
January 18: ‘A Heart Like Water’ to be offered widely soon
March 25: RADIO: Interview with St. Faustina Maria Pia, SV on RPR
July 8: The Chosen (locals appear as extras)
August 12: Bob Lind – a year later
August 26: Duppong siblings reflect on sister’ s sanctity
October 28: A piece of heaven in the hospital
December 15: Erika Bachiochi on being a pro-life Catholic, feminist intellectual
Third place entries:
August 27: Tears of the Heart
September 3: Szeitz’s work has Salonen imprint
May 27: Post-abortive women voice their pain
December 9: F3 for active men
Honorable mention:
March 11: Grace Gallops (Vicki Schmidt)
December 5: ‘I’ll always be your mother.’
I have can appreciate going it on your own. Been there. Great piece.
Thank you friend! Yes, I can imagine this resonated. We are blessed in so many ways. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear about Ohio! Please report back.