Fambrough named Prep Writer of Year for 2nd straight time
NATCHITOCHES — For the second straight year, Advocate sportswriter Robin Fambrough claimed one of the major awards handed out during the Louisiana Sports Writers Association’s annual awards brunch Sunday.
Fambrough took Prep Writer of the Year honors for Class I, which is for newspapers with a circulation of 40,000 and up, for 2011.
It marked the third time in the past five years — and fourth time overall — that Fambrough has won in the Prep Writer category. Writers submit three game stories, features or columns to be judged as a unit.
Shreveport Times sportswriter Roy Lang III received Story of the Year honors for a poignant feature on how the LSU and Alabama football teams and their fans dealt with natural disasters in recent years.
Acadiana-area writer Dan McDonald claimed Sportswriter of the Year honors for accumulating the most points in 14 regular writing categories in the annual contest.
McDonald had 15 points with four firsts, a second and a third. Points are awarded on a 3-2-1 basis for first- through third-place finishes.
In newspaper sweepstakes, the New Orleans Times-Picayune took top honors in Class I, and the Lafayette Daily Advertiser won in Class II. Both papers won in the Best Section category, another major award, in their respective classes.
Sports editors, copy editors, writers and photographers from across the country judged the competition, which again drew more than 1,000 entries from 12 newspapers and online entities across the state.
The brunch brought to a close the LSWA’s annual two-day convention, which for the fourth straight year was held in conjunction with the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremonies.
The LSWA is the sponsoring organization of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, which inducted eight new members — including former Catholic High and NFL running back Warrick Dunn, former Southern football coach Pete Richardson, former LSU baseball star Eddy Furniss, former LSU running back Terry Robiskie and former New Orleans Saints running back Deuce McAllister — on Saturday night in the Natchitoches Events Center.