John Williams, former photographer (and currently a contributor) for
<MI>The Valley Reporter<D> received two awards for his work.
In the Vermont weekly paper division, William's picture of a fire at
Amerigas on New Year's Eve was recognized with a second-place award and
his photograph of a Harwood Union soccer goal being scored received a
third-place award.
Editor Lisa Loomis received a third-place award in the combined daily
and weekly editorial writing division for an editorial entitled "Keep it
in the open" which dealt with the Warren Select Board's use of
executive session to discuss the possibility of taking legal action.
The annual VPA meeting was held at the Capital Plaza in Montpelier. In
addition to Shumlin, attendees heard from state Senator Jeannette White
and state Rep. Donna Sweaney, who chair the government operations
committee in the Senate and the House.
Shumlin's legal counsel, Beth Robinson, and Secretary of State Jim
Condos also discussed the open government issues as they see them from
their offices. Stephanie Dasaro, the new public information officer for
the Vermont State Police, also addressed the association.
The VPA presented state Archivist Gregory Sanford the Matthew Lyon Award
for his efforts for the First Amendment and open government by
providing access to government documents. Sanford said he accepted the
award on behalf of his coworkers.
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