Citizen’s Kruszewski wins eight VPC awards

Citizen Managing Editor Patty Kruszewski won eight awards in the Virginia Professional Communicators (VPC) 2019 communications contest, including four first-place entries that advanced to the National Federation of Press Women competition. Awards were announced at the VPC spring conference held at University of Richmond April 27.

Kruszewski collected first-place VPC honors in the personal opinion category for two Family Forum columns. Both “Closeness and How it Grows” and “Planting the Seeds of Conversation” touched on the topic of building loving parent-child relationships and keeping lines of communication open.

Judges praised the columns for “reminding parents to make time for their children without being preachy.” One judge even remarked that she would make use of the conversation tips to engage her son who rarely shares about his school day.

Another top entry was in the specialty article category for health and fitness. “T. Rex Run” described last year’s inaugural Richmond Road Runners event at Dorey Park, how the popular event was inspired, and how it developed. “Engaging and fun to read,” said the judges. “Lots of good quotes that contributed to the energy of the piece.”

Kruszewski won additional first-place awards for her feature story, “School’s in Session,” about whisky school at McCormack’s Big Whisky Grill, and for a restaurant review of the Backyard Grill.

“Great detail and scene-setting . . Writing like this has real color,” said judges of the McCormack’s story. Judges also noted that Kruszewski’s three visits to the Backyard Grill were more than many reviewers make, and thus helped to create a broader picture for readers.

In the feature story category, Kruszewski won second place for her entry about a local woman whose story of triumph over tragedy earned a place in the book Miracles and More, part of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series.

Kruszewski also earned a third-place award in the category for her account of a Lakeside native who wrote a book about his auto mechanic mother, and an honorable mention for a story about medical professionals honored at the 2018 Shining Knight Gala.

A story about a visit from the Recycled Orchestra of Cateura, Paraguay, to The Steward School won Kruszewski another honorable mention in the specialty articles (education) category.

In total, there were 66 winning entries at the VPC contest. Kruszewski was the third-most decorated winner.

Other Henrico winners were Cynthia Price of Glen Allen (three awards, including two first-place awards) and Joan Tupponce (the second most- decorated winner, with nine awards, including four first-place awards).

All first-place winning entries advanced to the national contest; results will be announced June 29 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.