We’re Winners

The Suburban Newspapers of America have just announced the winners of the 2008 Advertising & Promotions Contest, and we took home three prizes.

Our outstanding design work by Brittani Harrison and photo by Christina Barany were honored with a first-place finish in the Best Cover Design category, for our Retirement section, “Happily Ever After.”

Homes & Estates was again honored as first place for Best Homes Publication or Homes Special Section for the Feb./March 2008 issue on “Amazing Spaces.” It’s our second straight year to win this award. Great work by art director Amy Curry, ad production work by Rebecca Hannon and Craig Jarman, and the outstanding efforts of editor Krista Nightengale made it happen.

And our fabulous ad staff and dearly departed marketing director Julie Dial deserve credit for earning us a second-place finish for Best Media Kit, for our media kit, of course.

What if HPISD Weren’t Exemplary?

In May, our editorial board came out in favor of Cathy Bryce’s campaign to reduce Highland Park ISD’s focus on the TAKS exams and the accompanying Texas Education Agency accountability ratings. Then she soon resigned from her post, and I thought that meant she might drop her plans to take on what could be a difficult task of communicating to the community a need to refocus HPISD schools on educating students rather than preparing for a standardized test.

To my surprise, Bryce still wants to push this important initiative.

Why is the Blog Slow?

Today, Austin, Chuck, and Krista are all off work. I have no excuse for Tierney’s absence, nor really for my own. Except that I am currently preoccupied with a question I didn’t think I’d have to be answering today.

Does anyone know if cottonwood trees can suffer from oak wilt?

How Many Days Until School Starts?

This morning my almost-offically-in-kindergarten son said, “Mommy, it’s just about almost only 2 more groups of seven days til school starts coming on Monday.”

Translation: School starts 2 weeks from Monday.

That was a super crazy fast summer.