Above: Three Catholic Sun writers win awards at the May 4 Syracuse Press Club recognition dinner at the Collegian Inn in Syracuse. Here, Editor Dc. Tom Cuskey is shown with one of two awards in hand.
By Tami S. Scott, associate editor
Three Catholic Sun writers won awards at the May 4 Syracuse Press Club recognition dinner held annually at the Collegian Inn in Syracuse. The categories fell under the umbrella of “Print/Digital News: Non-Daily or Special Interest.”
Former associate editor Tom Maguire earned First Place for his sports story, “A dream within a dream: quest of a Ludden hoopster.”
In the Sports Story subcategory, former associate editor Tom Maguire earned First Place for his story, “A dream within a dream: quest of a Ludden hoopster,” about Bishop Ludden basketball player Amarah Streiff who surpassed her coach’s career total for the Gaelic Knights. In the article, Coach Carm Petrera is quoted as saying, “She’s a generational kid. It’s once in a blue moon you find a talent like Amarah Streiff. They’re rare. They are rare breeds.”
To read the article online, go to A dream within a dream: quest of a Ludden hoopster.
Editor Dc. Tom Cuskey at the end of the night walked away with two awards. He placed second in the Human Interest Feature or Series subcategory for his story, “Kindness changes everything,” and earned Honorable Mention in the same subcategory for “Two tragedies, one source of comfort.”
“Kindness changes everything” is about twin sisters, Maddie Adams and Liz Adams, who in August 2020 started the “Courageously Kind” podcast that focused on topics like kindness and empathy. At the time of publication, their audience grew to more than 100,000 listeners in 70-plus countries.
The following is an excerpt from the article:
“We’re all just people, we’re all humans, and everybody wants to be treated with kindness, and respect, regardless of who we are and where we are, what we think and believe.” That’s where the title “Courageously Kind” finds its roots. “It’s not always easy to be kind to others and to ourselves,” Maddie shared. “It’s not always easy to stand up and say, ‘I’m going to step out and I’m going to choose to be kind.’ It takes a lot of courage and it takes kind of breaking through that fear, to extend that love and that kindness to others.”
To read the full article online, visit Kindness changes everything.
Contributing writer and Catholic Sun Board of Directors member Dan Hurley won Honorable Mention for his article, “Gene Fisch’s family story transcends time.”
“Two tragedies, one source of comfort” covered how local communities responded with faith, hope and love to the heartbreaking deaths of two young girls, 11-year-old Brexialee Torres-Oritz, of Syracuse, and 14-year-old Ava Wood, of Baldwinsville. Brexialee was the victim of a drive-by shooting. Ava had been shot and killed in her bed, the victim of a murder-suicide by her father.
The Rev. Brendan Foley, parochial vicar at St. Anthony of Padua Church in Syracuse was quoted in the article saying, “They knew the importance of prayer and the importance of being with one another right now. That’s what my prayers are for today, that the community here is able to find a particular peace that only God can give.”
Visit Two tragedies, one source of comfort to read the full article.
Contributing writer (and Catholic Sun Board of Directors member) Dan Hurley earned Honorable Mention in the News Feature or Series subcategory for his article, “Gene Fisch’s family story transcends time,” about an American immigration success story and the atrocities that preceded it during WWII in Poland. Fisch shares his story in two published books, “All Love Comes Home, A Promise of Truth” and “To Have a Tomorrow, A True Story.” Both are available on Amazon.com.
The following is an excerpt from Hurley’s article:
Indeed, when George Santayana said “Those who do not learn history are condemned to repeat it” he had courageous people like Fisch in mind. “It is important for people to know where they came from and what they have endured,” Fisch said. “One only needs to look at what is happening in the Ukraine and Middle East to see the cycle repeated.”
To read the full article online, visit Gene Fisch’s story transcends time.
The Syracuse Press Club’s members are journalists, educators, students and communications professionals in Central New York print, radio, television and digital media.
The press club reported receiving 458 entries across 54 categories. The judges were from partner press clubs in California, Florida, Idaho, Louisiana, Ohio and Wisconsin. On average, only one-third of the entries submitted in each category earn a spot on the finalists’ list.
