It is again my honor to receive the Oklahoma Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest award for first place in photography for 2012. I’ve have been awarded this honor several times in the past, but it’s always nice when I can, as my editor Gene likes to say, “Put more hardware on the wall.”

Competing with other newspapers in our class from around the state is, at least in my view, more about doing a good job every day for my newspaper and for our community. Times are tough in the newspaper business, and it’s more important than ever to push hard to be the best we can be, to the watch dog and the guard dog for the public, and to enjoy bringing our readership the best product we can.