Henrico Citizen earns 6 Virginia Press Association awards

For the second year in a row, the Henrico Citizen earned six awards in the Virginia Press Association's annual News and Advertising Contest, whose 2021 winning entries were announced this week.

Competing for the first time in the online category, against all other digital publications in the state, the Citizen earned awards for its breaking news, general news, education, health and environmental, and feature coverage last year.

Citizen Managing Editor Patty Kruszewski won first place in the feature writing category for a collection of articles about a local woman’s efforts to prevent youth suicides, after her son took his own life; the post-pandemic work of the Relationship Foundation of Virginia; and the legacy of late Henrico resident and cycling advocate Bud Vye.

A judge wrote that Kruszewski’s articles flowed well and involved interesting topics.

Citizen Publisher Tom Lappas earned three awards:

• second place in the Health, Science and Environmental Writing (Open) category (which included entries from publications in all nine VPA member classifications – daily, non-daily, online publications and specialty publications), for a package of three articles examining COVID-19 vaccination efforts in Henrico; the discovery that federal officials knew about the presence of dangerous chemicals known as PFAS in Eastern Henrico several years earlier than local or state officials; and a lawsuit filed by two environmental organizations against Henrico County, alleging James River pollution.

• second place in the General News Writing category for a package of 10 articles about COVID-19, of which a judge wrote: “Very thorough reporting. Excellent use of data. The specific focus on diversity is not found in a lot of COVID coverage.”

• third place in the Breaking News Writing category for an article about a planned pay raise for county employees.

Citizen Education Reporter Anna Bryson, a Report for America corps member, earned two awards:

• second place in the Education Writing category for a package of three articles about efforts to remove a book from the libraries of Henrico high schools; the public school system’s efforts to attract a more diverse workforce; and the Henrico Education Association’s plans to push for collective bargaining. A judge wrote of her entries: “Good topics, well-sourced.”

• third place in the Education Writing category for a package of three articles about Reynolds Community College’s efforts to re-enroll lost students; Henrico Schools’ transgender policies; and data about the number of Virginia children who planned to attend public preschool. A judge praised her work as “well-written stories on important topics.”

The Citizen has earned 243 awards for journalism and advertising from the Virginia Press Association, Virginia Professional Communicators and National Federation of Press Women in its 20-year history.