The Beaumont Enterprise staff had a strong showing at this weekend’s Press Club of Southeast Texas virtual awards banquet, bringing home 22 of 43 awards the staff was eligible for in the newspaper category.
Among those awards, which are given for content published in 2020, was a first-place win for “overall excellence.”
“The Beaumont Enterprise does a nice job of covering impactful, local issues, as well as localizing national and regional issues,” said the category’s judge. “The diverse mixture of coverage keeps readers well-informed.”
Reporters also took home first-place awards in the news story, feature story, special reports, sports news, sports feature and sports column categories. Enterprise photographers and copy editors were awarded first place for best news photo, sports photo, news page design/layout, sports page design/layout and overall excellence in page design/layout.
Judges from news outlets across the country had high praise for those winners.
“Good writing highlights a white family with three adopted Black sons. The story is heartwarming, but does not shy away from the challenges facing interracial families,” a judge said of photographer Kim Brent’s story titled “Parents of three white, three black children seek to ensure they all grow up safely.”
“A good piece of community journalism that keeps the voices of affected parties front and center. Readable and nuanced,” they said of a story from Kaitlin Bain and Jacob Dick titled “After blast, trauma remains.”
In the open category, The Enterprise was recognized for environmental reporting, editorial and column writing and an editorial cartoon, among other honors.
According to the Press Club of Southeast Texas, a total of 529 entries were received for the contest’s 107 individual categories.
The Beaumont Enterprise staff had a strong showing at this weekend's Press Club of Southeast Texas virtual awards banquet, bringing home 22 of 43 awards the staff was eligible for in the newspaper category.
| Award | Category | Winner(s) | Headline |
| 1st | News story, daily | Jorge Ramos | Family seeks answers in death |
| 2nd | News story, daily | Isaac Windes | Derailed train causes closures, evacuations |
| 1st | Feature story | Kim Brent | Parents of three white, three black children seek to ensure they all grow up safely |
| 2nd | Feature story | Isaac Windes | Janitor becomes teacher |
| 3rd | Feature story | Jacob Dick | Hollywood animator whose dreams started in Beaumont dies at 60 |
| HM | Feature story | Kim Brent | Home, tweet home |
| 2nd | Investigative reports | Isaac Windes | Records: Safety audit discussed before drill |
| 1st | Special reports | Kaitlin Bain, Jacob Dick | After blast, trauma remains |
| 2nd | Special reports | Jacob Dick | Blast still forefront for PN residents |
| 1st | Sports news, daily | Isaac Windes, Matt Faye | Native American alum speaks out on PN-G mascot controversy |
| 1st | Sports feature | Jorge Ramos | Remembering Reggie Garrett Jr. |
| 2nd | Sports feature | Matt Faye | Community salutes 'Lamar legend' |
| 2nd | Reporting portfolio | Isaac Windes | Documents: BISD bus driver paddled student (1-30); Education changed forever in 2020 (12-27); Port Neches cafe celebrates end of successful but dramatic year (1-3) |
| 3rd | Reporting portfolio | Kaitlin Bain | Communications after TPC Group blast give more information about asbestos discovery, official response (2-23); Data shortcomings cloud coronavirus impact (4-19); Tyrrell library opens doors for fifth time in 117-year history (1-22) |
| 1st | Sports column | Matt Faye | What's next after NFL's late apology (6-7); A season unlikely any other in SETX (8-23); Playoffs unkind to SETX teams (12-12) |
| 1st | News photo | Kim Brent | Down but definitely not out during COVID-19 |
| 3rd | Feature photo | Kim Brent | Sacred succession |
| 1st | Sports photo | Fran Ruchalski | Return of the Titan |
| 1st | News page design/layout, daily | Billie Dorman | Sacred succession |
| 1st | Sports page design/layout, daily | Brad Kester | Return of the Titan |
| 1st | Overall excellence page design/layout | Billie Dorman, Julie Dick, Brad Kester, Alex Nicoll, Bryce Dodds | Local Dems bullish on Biden (3-5); Sacred succession (8-22); Return of the Titan (8-23) |
| 1st | Overall excellence, daily | Beaumont Enterprise | Local Dems bullish on Biden (3-5); Sacred succession (8-22); 'If you stay, it is you and God' (8-26) |
| 1st | Environmental | Jacob Dick | Report: Area leads in illegal emissions |
| 1st | Editorial/commentary | Thomas Taschinger | Virus shows news media, government still have a vital role in our society (3-15); America cannot accept any more unjust deaths like George Floyd’s (5-31); Rebel monument near I-10 also should leave as our country changes (6-12) |
| 2nd | Guest column | PT Hemenway | The race to fill those hospital beds could pay off |
| 3rd | Graphic/cartoon/illustration | Andy Coughlan | Patriotic flag |
| 1st | Photo portfolio | Kim Brent | Doctor talks life on front line of virus fight (9-20); Down but definitely not out during COVID-19 (4-26); Home, tweet home (5-10); Hundreds mourn Floyd at MLK Park (5-29); Sacred Succession (8-22) |
| 2nd | COVID-19 coverage | Kim Brent, Kaitlin Bain | State investigates nursing home (10-25); First doses of vaccine given as county reports record deaths (12-18); Data flaws obscure virus risk (4-19); Doctor talks life on front line of virus (9-20); Single dad turns side jobs into sole income (4-26) |
The club awarded 94 first-place trophies, 73 second-place certificates, 63 third-place certificates and 32 honorable mention certificates.
A complete list of winners can be found on the Press Club’s website.
kaitlin.bain@beaumontenterprise.com
twitter.com/KaitlinBain
