I’m very proud to say that while I was in Europe, Ray Howze (who’s in Buenos Aires this semester) and I won an award.

Our breaking news coverage of the UM System president announcement back in December earned us a third place nod in the Breaking News Reporting category of the regional 2011 Mark of Excellence Awards.

The awards are sponsored by the Society of Professional Journalists and there are a ton of Missourian and MU kids being honored across nearly all of the categories.

It’s exciting to be honored, but without the help of Ray and the team of reporters and editors working behind the scenes it never would have happened.

The morning of the announcement we had literally no idea who could possibly be named. As soon as we had the name, the great machine of reporters and editors we involved got to turning. It was a wonderful effort and I’m very proud of the work that was done, so I’m glad we could all be honored this way.

Third place is terrific, but I can’t wait to make a run on a first place next year. Here’s to producing more good journalism.