Park Cities People and Preston Hollow People have won a combined 13 awards in the National Newspaper Association Foundation’s 2025 Better Newspaper Contest.
Park Cities People brought home the second-most awards of any Texas paper in the annual competition, which this year drew 1,743 entries from around the country.
The Park Cities People ad team brought home two top awards in the Best Multiple Advertiser Section category — a first-place win for the Park Cities 2024 Football Preview, and second place for the University Park Centennial special section, which one judge wrote made them want to visit the area.
The Preston Hollow People ad team won second place in the Best Advertorial or Sponsored Editorial category for a People to Know ad about the CC:MD Concierge Medical Team, which appeared on page 21 of the June 2024 paper.
Ad team members Tana Hunter, Melanie Thornton, and Emma Saldivar earned an honorable mention in the Best Series Ad Idea, Color category for one advertisement that will be familiar to readers — the half-page Rescue Air | Rescue Plumbing broadsheet that is folded around each of our papers. The judges noted that the sheet’s “very simple design makes the ads stand out.”
Sports editor Todd Jorgenson won second place in the Best Sports Story category for “Airey-Bufford’s Determination Extends Beyond the Mat,” which judges said was a “(g)reat story on the efforts of one girl to make a change in her community.”
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Managing editor Sarah Hodges took home seven awards.
She won four second-place awards: in the Best Serious Column category for “Rolling Through the Park Cities on Bus 237,” the Best Business Feature Story category for “Garage Barber Makes House Calls,” the Best Non-Profile Feature Story category for “Animal Lover Helps Rooster Strut His Stuff at Family Ranch,” and the Preserving Local History category for “UP History Quiz.”
Of “Rolling Through the Park Cities,” the judges wrote: “(c)lear, concise writing, in-person reporting, and attention to detail make this short column stand out.”
The judges wrote that Hodges’ piece on animal lover Mary Grasso’s efforts to nurse Carlito the rooster back to health was a “(g)reat story that is a breath of fresh air.” They called Hodges’ UP History Quiz “a bold entry in a history-filled competition.”
Of Hodges’ piece on garage-barber Ashton Pham-Davis, one judge wrote “I love stories about young people finding their niche. He’s an artist — and so is the writer.”
Hodges won one third place award in the Best Business Story category for “What Does It Take to Get a Next Day Appointment at DPS.” She earned two honorable mentions: in the Best Business Story category for “Friends Bring Love of Art, Fashion, Design to Ancient Game of Mahjong,” and the Best Profile Feature Story category for “Don’t Throw Away That Empty Cereal Box.”
The People Newspapers team took home a third-place win in the Best Special News, Sports, Niche, Feature Section or Edition category for its 2024 20 Under 40 special section. The judges wrote that it was “(g)reat to see recognition for so many young people working with passion.”
