South Carolina wins 25 UMAC awards

WASHINGTON, D.C. – South Carolina has won more than two dozen writing, photography, video, website and publication awards from the United Methodist Association of Communicators – including 18 awards for the Advocate and its staff.

UMAC gathered Oct. 17-20 in Washington, D.C., to honor communicators across the country with awards of excellence and certificates of merit for their work to tell the denomination’s story.

The Advocate won awards of excellence for the full newspaper and for its history book, “In the World, Not of the World: 175 Years of the South Carolina United Methodist Advocate.” The Advocate won awards of excellence for five articles by Editor Jessica Connor: “Pastor Ink” (September 2011), “New Mission for Rural Mission” (October 2011), “Peace in Sudan, Peace Everywhere” (December 2011), “A Different Church” (February 2012) and “Still Singing” (March 2012). The Advocate also won certificates of merit for Connor’s 9/11 editorial “Love Thy Enemies” and five of Connor’s news/feature articles: “Feeding Mouths, Feeding Souls” (November 2011), “Wrapped in Prayer” (January 2012), “Helping the Stranger” (March 2012), “The Bridge” (April 2012) and “Greenville Hunger Effort” (May 2012).

Visit www.advocatesc.org to read the winning articles.

Conference Communications Director Matt Brodie won an award of excellence for the conference e-newsletter, ConnX, as well as six certificates of merit for the Annual Conference 2012 logo, Revolution 2012 photography, a clergy portrait of the Rev. Willie Teague, the Salkehatchie History DVD, General Conference photo coverage and a General Conference multimedia slideshow.

Brodie and Connor together won for their collaboration on conference/Advocate projects: an award of excellence for a circuit rider photograph, as well as four certificates of merit for the General Conference S.C. Perspective website, the Jurisdictional Conference S.C. Perspective website, the Introducing Bishop Holston e-Publication and the Advocate History Video.

The Rev. Steve King, Advocate board chair, said the board is extremely proud of Connor and Assistant Editor Allison Trussell.

“UMAC has affirmed what we already knew: the South Carolina United Methodist Advocate is exceptional journalism,” King said. “We are indeed fortunate to have a talented and dedicated editor in Jessica Connor, who is fabulously supported behind the scenes by Allison Trussell.”

The Rev. Kathy James, director of Connectional Ministries, said the conference is blessed to be able to benefit from Brodie’s exceptional photography, video and multimedia talents.

“Matt Brodie is a gifted digital artist,” James said. “I am proud of his accomplishments.”

Also at the UMAC gathering, Lisa Elliott Diehl (Kansas West Conference) and Kathryn Witte (Nebraska Conference) were honored as 2012 Co-Communicators of the Year. UMAC inducted Al Horton to their Hall of Fame.

For more on UMAC and the awards, visit www.umcommunicators.org .