CONSTRUCTION WRITERS ASSOCIATION PRESENTS 2002 JOURNALISM AWARDS
June, 2002
The Construction Writers Association's journalism, website, and service awards were presented during the association's 2002 Annual Meeting, held this May in Washington, DC.
The association's highest honor, the Silver Hard Hat Award, was presented to Bill Swisher, chairman emeritus of CMI Corporation, Oklahoma City, OK. Swisher founded the company and was instrumental in development and popularization of highly innovative machinery which automated road construction. Swisher also has been active in industry organizations, including TRIP (The Road Information Program), the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA), the National Asphalt Pavement Association Foundation at Auburn University, and the recently-merged Construction Industry Manufacturers Association (CIMA) and Equipment Manufacturers Association (EMI). Silver Hat Award
Bill Swisher, chairman emeritus of CMI Corporation, received CWA's highest honor, the Silver Hard Hat award, for service to the construction industry. The award was presented by Jan Tuchman, CWA president and editor of Engineering News-Record, and Tom Kuennen, principal of Expressways Publishing Project and chair of the Silver Hard Hat Award Committee.
CWA 2002 Awards
From left: Sharon Holling of Caterpillar, Inc., chair of the journalism awards committee, presented awards to Jack Roberts, Equipment World; Jack Klein, Jack Klein Communications; Tom Sawyer, Engineering News-Record; Jim Olsztynski, Business News Publishing Co; and Allen Zeyher, Roads & Bridges. She was assisted by Jenni Grover of Portland Cement Association, who co-chaired the committee. The Boger award for feature articles was presented to Allen Zeyher for "Reviving a Landmark," published in the October 2001 issue of Roads & Bridges. An honorable mention in this category went to Gerry Donohue for "The Pressure's On," which appeared in the September/October 2001 issue of Building Products. The Boger award for special reports went to Tom Sawyer for "e-Construction," a series published in four separate issues of Engineering News-Record. The Boger award for editorials was awarded to Robert Carpenter for "Caltrans Oversteps Bounds" in the September 2001 issue of Underground Construction. The Robert F. Boger Awards were established in 1971 to honor Boger, a founder of CWA and the late publisher of McGraw-Hill's Engineering News-Record and Construction Methods & Equipment.
The judges decided to separate out all September 11 coverage and award special Boger awards to the winning entries. Nadine M. Post won in the special report category for disaster coverage appearing in issues of Engineering News-Record between September 17 and October 8, 2001. Jack Roberts won for a feature entitled "Attack on America," which appeared in the December 2001 issue of Equipment World. CWA 2002 Awards
Judy Schreiner of construction.com (McGraw-Hill Construction Information Group) received a special journalism website award for news coverage from Mike Reilly, principal of Reilly Communications, chair of the journalism website awards.
This year's Russell newsletter award was presented to Jack Klein for Contractor's Business Management Report, which is published by the Institute of Management and Administration, Inc (IOMA). The T. Randolph Russell Award was established in 1993 to honor the late "Randy" Russell, who edited a weekly newsletter for the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA). .
This year's Godfrey body of work award was presented to Jim Olsztynski for articles appearing in Plumbing & Mechanical and Supply House Times. Established in 1999, the Kneeland "Ned" Godfrey award honors a past CWA president who served in top editorial posts with Civil Engineering and IOMA and authored a construction-related book for McGraw-Hill prior to his death in 1997.
The CWA journalism website award was established in 1998 to recognize the creativity and journalistic skills of editors who are now providing information through this newer medium. This year's winner was www.renovatorsplace.com , a site devoted to residential remodeling and reconstruction created by Allison E Beatty of Renovators Place Inc. Wilmette, IL. The jurors also selected www.construction.com , the web outlet of McGraw-Hill Construction Information Group, for a special award for news coverage; Judy Schreiner, senior online editor, accepted this award.
CWA journalism awards are given to individual authors or editors, not the publications or organizations that published the material. The website awards, on the other hand, are seen as a joint venture involving many people in an organization and therefore presented to the entity sponsoring the winning site.
Construction Writers Association is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, international organization for professional journalists, writers, editors and publicists serving the information needs of the construction industry. The group strives to provide educational benefits, the opportunity to network, enhanced professionalism in construction journalism, and information resources to its members. CWA's website, www.constructionwriters.org , provides information and links to many construction-related sites to its members and the public.
For more information
Deborah J. Hodges
Executive Director
P.O. Box 14784
Chicago, Illinois 60614
Telephone 773 687-8726
Fax 773 687-8627
info@constructionwriters.org