Toccoa Falls
Georgia Backroads, Autumn 2004
In 2005, I won a Hearst Award for Feature Writing for the article "The Toccoa Falls Flood," which appeared in the fall edition of Georgia Backroads Magazine. This article is my single greatest achievement in journalism to date and the article I am most proud of. The man featured in the story poured his heart out to me and gave me the perfect narrative for an anniversary piece on the flood. Not only was the story a turning point in my career (I was still in college at the time), but it was also my late mother's favorite clip of mine. My entire career is dedicated to her. Without her, I would never have taken this path.
Download The Toccoa Falls Flood
Front Page
Knoxville News Sentinel, November 1, 2008
This article, which I came up with myself, was my first front page story for a daily newspaper. During the 2008 presidential campaign, I had struggled to come up with election stories that could be localized to Knoxville. This dilemma was due in part to the fact that Tennessee was essentially a wash for McCain, and people had known that for months. And therein lay my idea for the story.
Go to Tenn. activists focus on North Carolina
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A Student's Perspective
Thomaston Times
This editorial is the article that started it all. Not that it was my first published article; but it was the first for which more people than just my family and friends took notice. I wrote "A Student's Perspective" when I was 16 and after it published, I got calls for weeks at the newspaper and at home from people all over the community thanking me for writing the piece. After that, I was hooked.
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Red & Black
Red and Black
Below are links to some of my favorite editorials from my college days writing for the Red & Black (UGA's independent college paper). Each of these articles created a debate within the newspaper (see rebuttals). These editorials cover topics that are near and dear to my heart: civil rights and workers' rights. My grandmother was a union woman in the South (a tall task to say the least) and I was inspired by her Norma Rae-esque story for one of the columns. (These were also the days when I had long hair...yikes!)
Go to Smoking ban creates new risks
Go to Students Could Be Paid Better
Go to Campus jobs shortchange employees
13 Reasons
Knoxville Magazine
I've written dozens of magazine articles since the Toccoa Falls piece was published in 2004, but my favorite by far is actually a sports story I wrote for Knoxville Magazine in August 2008. At the time, I hadn't written sports in years and was excited to give the subject a try in the magazine format. What was also great about this article is that it represents the best editor-to-writer relationship I have experienced in the business so far. My editor, Michael Tribble, saw this story through from start to finish and I look back fondly on the time when I wrote features for the magazine.
Download 13 Reasons: Why We Love to Hate Maryville Football
In From the Cold
Knoxville Magazine
I have included this article in the Hall of Fame because in my nearly 10 year career in journalism, this was by far my favorite piece to research. I put a lot of effort and soul into this piece and was able to come in contact with a host of interesting people around Knoxville. Homelessness as a topic is riveting and depressing all at once and even more invigorating was the process of taking all of the information I had gathered and breaking it down into a coherent and engaging article. Very good times!
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Worst Article Ever
Thomaston Times
Talk about a conflict of interest...When I was in high school, I wrote for my hometown paper as a sports writer and columnist. At the time, I was also a player on the high school soccer team, which incidentally was one of my sports beats. Oddly enough, I'd interview my coach the day after games by phone, and act as if I didn't know the guy. (A situation made funnier because he was British, I had a thick Southern accent, and I was his starting left defender.) Beyond the comedic logistics of the whole thing, the article itself breaks just about every rule of ethical journalism and AP Style imaginable.
Download Knights to Play Region Game in Stockbridge
