National Federation of Press Women names 15 Virginia Professional Communicators members winners in annual competition

By Sue Brinkerhoff Bland

RICHMOND​, VA—Members of Virginia Professional Communicators (VPC) won 27 awards for excellence in communications from the National Federation of Press Women (NFPW), at the annual conference, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The members were recognized for their work in university media relations and communications, newspapers, magazines, for-profit and nonprofit organizational communications, trade associations and websites.

NFPW, now in its 81st year, is a nationwide organization of women and men pursuing careers across the communications spectrum. Its Virginia affiliate, Virginia Professional Communicators (VPC), began 60 years ago as Virginia Press Women. Together with the Virginia Press Women Foundation, VPC awards a communications scholarship to a college student each year. VPC’s statewide contest is professionally judged, and the first-place winners advance to the national competition.

Winners include:

First place
Joan Tupponce, Glen Allen. Category: Personality profile, more than 500 words

Second place  
Sunni Brown, Richmond. Category: News or feature releases
Julie Campbell, Lexington. Category: Publication regularly edited by entrant
Audrey Hingley, Urbanna. Category: Columns — general
Kimberly Loehr, Richmond. Two categories: Public service and headlines
Louisa Preston, Manakin Sabot. Category: Single photo, news or feature
Martha Steger, Midlothian. Four categories: Specialty articles — history,
Specialty articles — arts and entertainment, Personality profile — 500 words or fewer and Creative verse, single poem

Third place
Julie Campbell, Lexington. Category: Brochures — non-profit, government or educational  Kimberly Loehr, Richmond. Two categories: Community, institutional or internal relations and Specialty articles, service or technology
Julia McCann, Farmville. Category: Reports (including, but not limited to, annual reports) Tiffany Murray, Richmond. Category: Writing for the web
Martha Steger, Midlothian. Category: Specialty articles — travel
Joan Tupponce, Glen Allen. Category: Specialty articles — physical health, mental health, fitness, self-help

Honorable mention
Nancy Wright Beasley, North Chesterfield. Category: Newsletters — corporate or for-profit Lyndsie Blakely, Farmville. Category: Public service
Ruth Doumlele, Richmond. Category: Speech
Paul Fletcher, Richmond. Two categories: Editorial/opinion, print-based newspaper and Columns: Humorous, print-based newspaper
Patty Kruszewski, Richmond. Category: Feature story, print-based newspaper
Catherine Petrini, Alexandria. Two categories: Essay, chapter or section in a book and Website managed or edited entrant — non-profit, government or educational
Joan Tupponce, Glen Allen. Category: Feature story, magazine, newsletter or other non-newspaper publication
Virginia Professional Communicators will honor these members at its fall meeting on Saturday, Oct. 13, at historic Hanover Tavern, Hanover Courthouse, Virginia. It also will present its Newsmaker of the Year award to Virginia Del. Danica Roem. To register, visit ​www.VAPC.org​.