Awards by The Evening News staff from the Michigan Associated Press - 4/09/2004

Evening News wins AP awards The series about Charity Riddle among other articles and photos garnered honors. The Monroe Evening News captured a pair of first-place awards from the Michigan Associated Press.

The AP announced the awards Thursday. The newspaper also took several other spots on the awards list, from news writing to photography to informational graphics.

Staff writer Cynthia Ramnarace and staff photographer Valerie Tobias each took first-place honors for their work on the series "Choosing to Live," which documented the life of Charity Riddle. Charity lost four limbs and a kidney to a nearly fatal bout with meningitis.

"We're always pleased to get outside recognition for the work we do every day," said Evening News Editor Deborah Saul. "But I'm especially happy for Cynthia and Val this time. Charity's story was one of the most-read pieces we've ever done and both Cynthia and Val invested an extraordinary amount of time, effort and emotion into reporting it."

The four-part series was based on more than 30 hours of interviews between Mrs. Ramnarace and Charity, members of her family, physicians and health care workers. She also reviewed medical records and made hospital visits to gather details for the story.

Ms. Tobias documented Charity's life in photos by accompanying her to doctor's visits and spending two consecutive days observing Charity's day-to-day life.

Mrs. Ramnarace took first place in the feature story category and Ms. Tobias first place in the photo story category.

The Evening News won awards in Division II, which includes newspapers with a circulation of 15,000 to 50,000.

Ms. Tobias' series of photographs on Charity also took first place in the sweepstakes category, which includes all newspapers entering the contest.

"Most of all, we thank Charity for being so open and honest about the nightmare she faced and its aftermath," Ms. Saul said. "She's an amazing young woman. Her courage and indomitable spirit made this story possible and was an inspiration to all of us and to our readers."

Mrs. Ramnarace also took third place in the public service category for a series on poverty, called "One Step Away."

Ms. Tobias took a second place in the news pictures category with a photograph of a wall honoring Vietnam veterans during a National POW/MIA ceremony at Heck Park.

Design Editor Jim Dombrowski took a third-place award in the informational graphics category for a graphic called "Why leaves change color in the fall." The graphic is part of a regular feature in The Evening News called The Big Picture.

Staff photographer Nancy Chorzempa also won a third-place honor. Her prize was for a feature picture called "A special prom."

The Evening News staff also took honors in the breaking news category, winning second place in its coverage of the August blackout. The newspaper published on the day after the blackout despite not having power at the main newspaper office.

The articles, photographs and illustrations are available for viewing by clicking on "awards."