Wayne Community College’s Public Information Officer has been recognized with four writing awards.

Tara Humphries earned first and second place in the press release category and first and second place in the speech category of the 2020 National Federation of Press Women’s At-Large Communications Contest.

“This is a significant achievement because the at-large contest is a competitive contest with entries from throughout the United States,” said NFPW Contest Director Teri Ehresman. “You submitted some outstanding entries.”

The honored press releases were “Homegrown Science Event Brings Families to WCC” (second place) and “WCC and Chinese Forestry Programs Connect” (first place).

In both cases, judges complimented the use of quotes, including the “wide range of voices” in the science festival story.

The lauded speeches were College President Thomas A. Walker Jr.’s messages to graduates presented during commencement ceremonies in May 2019 (second place) and December 2019 (first place).

Of the May speech, a judge wrote, “The speechwriter urges [the audience to] make that quest for building capacity and understanding a lifelong pursuit. That’s a great message, well-expressed and a worthwhile goal.” Remarks on the December speech included, “It’s a brief speech, but has enough fodder to leave all in the audience feeling grateful, gratified and challenged — a fine outcome indeed.”

The two first place entries will contend against other winning pieces from contests held by NFPW affiliates. Awards from that national competition will be presented in June.

About NFPW
The National Federation of Press Women was established in 1937 to “provide a means of communication between woman writers nationally; make possible the expression of a common voice in matters of national interest to press women, and otherwise advance the professional standards of press women.” Today, the organization remains true to those original concepts and seeks to find a strong voice for all working in and studying for careers across the communications spectrum in the United States.

NFPW proactively supports literacy, women’s issues, and journalism education. It also maintains a vigorous advocacy program for issues related to the First Amendment and freedom of information.