2009 ONPA  Annual Contest Winners

click on thhe category name to view the winning  images

George S. Smallsreed Photographer of Year
News Photographer of Year/Small Market
First place, Bill Lackey, Springfield News-Sun
Second place, Marshall Gorby, Springfield News-Sun
Third place, Tessa Bargainnier, Kent State University

George S. Smallsreed Photographer of Year
News Photographer of Year/Large Market
First place, Fred Squillante, The The The Columbus Dispatch
Second place, Gus Chan, The Plain Dealer
Third place, John Kuntz, The Plain Dealer
Award of Excellence, Michael, E. Keating. Cincinnati Enquirer

Student Photographer of the Year
First place, Diego James Robles, Ohio University
Second place, Tessa Bargainnier, Kent State University
Third place, Laura Torchia, Kent State University

James R. Gordon Ohio Understanding Award
Gus Chan, The Plain Dealer, “Catholic Church Closings”

Best of Show
Eric Albrecht, The The The Columbus Dispatch, “H1N1”

Picture Usage
First place, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer – (Over 100,000 circulation)
First place, ThisWeek Newspapers – (Under 100,000 circulation) 
Second place, The The The Columbus Dispatch – (Over 100,000 circulation)
Third place, Akron Beacon Journal – (Over 100,000 circulation)

Photography Staff of Year (Under 100,000 circulation)
First place, The Plain Dealer
Second place, The The The Columbus Dispatch
Third place, Cincinnati Enquirer

Photography Staff of Year (Over 100,000 circulation)
First place, Springfield News-Sun
Second place, Ohio University
Third place, ThisWeek Newspapers (Columbus) – David Richard – Freelance

Feature Single 
1st – Fred Squillante, The The The Columbus Dispatch, “Kite wouldn’t fly”
2nd- Diego James Robles, Ohio University, “Junior Miss”
3rd – Neal C. Lauron, The The The Columbus Dispatch, “Equipment Malfunction”
Award of Excellence – Lisa DeJong, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, “Pumpkin Head”
Award of Excellence – John Kuntz, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, “Bird play ”
Award of Excellence – Ed Suba Jr, Akron Beacon Journal, “Snow Day”
Award of Excellence – Diego James Robles, Ohio University, “Six Fest”

Feature Picture Story
1st – Fred Squillante, The The The Columbus Dispatch, “Becoming a Priest”
2nd – Andy Morrison, The (Toledo) Blade, “Faith Is…”
3rd – Fred Squillante, The The The Columbus Dispatch, “BlindMarching Band”

General News
1st – Eric Albrecht, The The The Columbus Dispatch, “Second Dose”
2nd – Tessa Bargainnier, Kent State University, “Homecoming”
3rd – Bill Lackey, Springfield News-Sun, “Funeral for Four”
Award of Excellence – Gus Chan, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, “Black Madonna”
Award of Excellence – Marshall Gorby, Springfield News-Sun, “Flag Burning”
Award of Excellence – Shari Lewis, The The The Columbus Dispatch, “Brother’s Innocence”
Award of Excellence – Tracy Boulian, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, “Witnessing History”

Illustration
1st – Andrea Levy, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, “About Face”
2nd – Andrea Levy, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, “Music to our Fears”
3rd – Andrea Levy, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, “Cold Storage”

News Picture Story
1st – Gus Chan, The Plain Dealer, “Catholic Church Closings”
2nd – John Kuntz, The Plain Dealer, “Serial Killer”
3rd – Courtney Hergesheimer, The The The Columbus Dispatch, “Domestic Silence”
Award of Excellence – Michael E. Keating, Cincinnati Enquirer, “Over the Rhine Killing”

Pictorial
1st – Shari Lewis, The The The Columbus Dispatch, “Quiet Reading”
2nd – Lisa DeJong, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, “Fire Bird”
3rd – Diego James Robles, Ohio University ,”Trapeze”
Award of Excellence – Kyle Robertson, The The The Columbus Dispatch, “Frogs”

Portrait Personality
1st – Diego James Robles, Ohio University, “Aquadette”
2nd – Lisa DeJong, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, “Haunted”
3rd – Diego James Robles, Ohio University, “Little Miss Chauncey Dover”
Award of Excellence – Lisa DeJong, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, “Chester”
Award of Excellence – Ed Suba Jr, Akron Beacon Journal, “New Face, New Life”
Award of Excellence – Fred Squillante, The The The Columbus Dispatch, “Grounbreaking Home”

Product Illustration
1st – Ed Suba Jr, Akron Beacon Journal, “Pizelles”
2nd – Joshua Gunter, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, “Thin Line”
3rd – Eric Albrecht, The The The Columbus Dispatch, “Muffins”

Sports Action
1st – Joshua Gunter, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, “Moonstruck”
2nd – Adam Cairns, ThisWeek Newspapers (Columbus), “Wrestling Win”
3rd – Karen Schiely, Akron Beacon Journal, “Jump”
Award of Excellence – Barbara J. Perenic, Springfield News-Sun, “Wrestling Bite”
Award of Excellence – Tracy Boulian, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, “Just Out of Reach”

Sports Feature
1st – Lorrie Cecil, ThisWeek Newspapers (Columbus), “E-3”
2nd – David Richard, Freelance, “Ejected”
3rd – Tracy Boulian, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, “Hope”

Sports Picture Story
1st – David Richard, Freelance, “Lake Erie Crushers”

Spot News (Under 100,000)
1st – Marshall Gorby, Springfield News-Sun, “Take Down”
2nd – Bill Lackey, Springfield News-Sun, “Electrifying Rescue”
3rd – Bill Lackey, Springfield News-Sun, “Waiting for Rescue”
Award of Excellence – Marshall Gorby, Springfield News-Sun, “Crying”
Award of Excellence – Scott Heckel, The Repository, “Father’s Comfort”

Spot News (Over 100,000)
1st – Gus Chan, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, “Tears of Remorse”
2nd – Dave Zapotosky, The (Toledo) Blade, “Hostage Freed”
3rd – Ed Suba Jr, Akron Beacon Journal, “Real Hot

Team Picture Story
1st – The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, “Serial Killer” – Gus Chan, Lisa DeJong, Marvin Fong, John Kuntz, Thomas Ondrey
2nd – The The The Columbus Dispatch, “H1N1” – Eric Albrecht, Tom Dodge, Courtney Hergesheimer, Jeff Hinckley, Jonathan Quilter, Fred Squillante

Best News Audio Slide Show
1st – Jonathan Quilter, The The The Columbus Dispatch, “Cold Case” –View project
2nd – Jonathan Quilter, The The The Columbus Dispatch, “Towed for Repair” – View project
3rd – Tom Dodge, The The The Columbus Dispatch, “Statehouse Drill” –View project

Best Sports Audio Slide Show
1st – Shari Lewis, The The The Columbus Dispatch, “Father’s Day” – View project
Participants:  Shari Lewis and Courtney Hergesheimer
2nd – Jonathan Quilter, The The The Columbus Dispatch, “Brandon Thomas” – View project
3rd – Neal C. Lauron, The The The Columbus Dispatch, “Mutton Bustin’r” – View project

Best Feature Audio Slide Show
1st – Gus Chan, The Plain Dealer, “Church Closings: A look back” – View project
2nd – Courtney Hergesheimer, The The The Columbus Dispatch, “Where We Live: King Lincoln” –View project
3rd – Amy Sancetta, Associated Press, “Warren, Ohio, Tells Its Story” –View project

Audio slide shows judged by Scott Strazzante, Chicago Tribune staff photographer. 

Best News Video
1st – Glenn Hartong,The Cincinnati Enquirer, “You Can Fight City Hall” –View project
2nd – Doral Chenoweth, The The The Columbus Dispatch, “Mirror Lake Jump” – View project
3rd – Marshall Gorby, Springfield News-Sun, Raccoon rescue” – View project

Best Sports Video
1st – Michael E. Keating, The Cincinnati Enquirer, ” Spring Training Is…” – View project
2nd – Stacy Doose, The Cincinnati Enquirer, “Eyeball Race” – View project
3rd – David I. Andersen, The Plain Dealer, “Glenville vs. Hilliard Davidson” – View project
Award of Excellence – David I. Andersen, The Plain Dealer, ” Remembering Coach Colbert” – View project

Best Feature Video
1st – David I. Andersen, The Plain Dealer, “Guardian Angels” – View project
2nd – Dale Omori, The Plain Dealer, “Help Wanted: When layoffs hit home” – View project
Participants: Dale Omori, David I. Andersen, Lynn Ischay
3rd – David I. Andersen, The Plain Dealer, “Mike “The Missile” Charlton” – View project

News & Sports Videos judged by Chuck Fadely, staff photographer & video producer at the Miami Herald.
Feature Videos judged by Zach Wise, award-winning producer for The New York Times.

Best Multimedia Project
1st – Randy Walk, The The The Columbus Dispatch, “Death Perceptions” – View project
Participants: Randy Walk, Doral Chenoweth III
2nd – Luke Wark, Sandusky Register, “Golden Children” –View project
Participants: Luke Wark, Sarah Weber, Christy Seyler, Ryan Blechinger

Multimedia projects judged by Tracy N. Boyer, an award-winning multimedia producer specializing in Web development and multimedia production. She was a multimedia producer at Roanoke.com and is currently obtaining her masters degree at UNC-Chapel Hill, studying Human-Computer Interaction in the School of Information Science.

Still Contest Judges

Matt McClain is an award winning photojournalist, who has worked for such papers as the Rocky Mountain News, Ventura County Star, Dallas Morning News, The Herald in Jasper, Ind., and The Muskegon Chronicle. Originally from Indiana, McClain studied journalism at Indiana University.

Following the closure of the Rocky Mountain News in 2009, he has been working as a freelance photographer based in Denver, Colo. His clients include, People Magazine, AARP, Scripps Howard Networks, Getty Images, The Washington Post, and the Denver Post, among others. McClain was NPPA Region 10 Photographer of the Year from 2002 to 2006. His work has also been honored by Pictures of the Year International and was among the winners just announced for the World Press Photo contest, winning 2nd place Daily Life Stories for his entry Finding Their Way, Colorado.

Andrew Craft has been a staff photographer at the Fayetteville Observer in NC since 2005, where his assignments range from covering the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan to shooting pet of the week. Craft became interested in photography in high school when he started photographing his fellow skateboarders. This led to his interest in photojournalism. After taking a few years off from photography, Craft went back to school and attended San Francisco State University, where he received a degree in journalism with an emphasis in photojournalism and a minor in anthropology.

For the past two years, Craft has been named the North Carolina Photographer of the Year by the North Carolina Press Photographers Association, has received numerous awards, including honors from Pictures of the Year International, Best of Photojournalism, Editors & Publishers Photos of the Year and the Atlanta Photojournalism Seminar.

Mark Mirko is a photographer and photography editor at the Hartford Courant, where he has worked for the past ten years. Previously, Mark was a staff photographer at The Palm Beach Post.

Somedays, like when he’s between assignments and has been asked to submit a short biography, he feels really lucky to have been part of the staff at two newspapers consistently recognized for their photo editing, design and photography.

In 2003/2004 Mark was the Ohio University School of Visual Communication Knight Fellow and he has been named an NPPA Region Photographer of the Year in the Northeast and Southeast regions of the U.S.He has been a guest lecturer for Ohio University, Trinity University, Southern Connecticut State University, the University of Hartford, Western Kentucky University and California State University, Fresno. Mark and his wife, Stephanie, live in a quiet corner of rural Connecticut where they have two children and a bitey mutt named Ruby.