CATALYST won 10 awards at the annual banquet for Utah journalists last month. Our writers took first place in three categories in the Society of Professional Journalists Utah Headliners Chapter (state of Utah) competition:
SCIENCE: Ashley Miller, for “Dust!,” a look at dust storms and their effect on our health.
EDUCATION: Lynne Oison, for her retrospective on children activists (“The KOPE Kids Then and Now”).
LIFESTYLE: James Loomis, for his story on Jim French and Playground East (“Keepin’ It Wild”).
Miller also took home a third place in Science for her piece on ozone pollution, and Loomis an honorable mention in Business/ Consumer for his story on Frogbench Farms.
Jane Lyon received second place for her profile on Karen Shepherd, part of our “Women of Wisdom: series. More third place awards went to Maya Silver (“Beyond a Shadow of a Drought”); and Myron Willson (“How many Earths Do You Need?”)
Honorable mentions went to Katherine Pioli (“The Rise and Fall of Neonicotinoids”) and Charlotte Bell (“Healthy Boundaries”).
Thank you to our writers, to the local volunteers who make up SPJ, and to the judges (members of SPJ chapters in other states).
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While I love awards and am very happy to receive them, I remind myself that there are no formal prizes for what CATALYST is really about. For 37 years, now, we’ve eschewed the sensational in lieu of stories that have heart, meaning and relevance to our readers’ lives.
Take this issue, for example: Charlotte Bell writes about the art of listening. Sara Hanks tells us how tarot cards helped her see her own spiritual path. Amy Brunvand educates us, as she does every month, on the political machinations affecting our beautiful state. Ashley Miller shares the good news of our progress toward clean air, and points out that new laws and habits (and the good graces of the weather gods) do make a difference—air quality is improving. Pam Holman explores the wider meaning of the Buy Nothing Project. Mary McIntyre gives us a refresher course in some of the basics of zero waste living. Kaleigh Stock and Omar of Rawtopia muse about the place of meat in the human diet. Suzanne Wagner gives us a weather report for the soul. Adelina Whitten introduces us to a man who loves honey bees. “Urban Almanac” shares factoids and advice for the month at hand.
There’s more, too. See for yourself. I hope you enjoy this issue.
Greta deJong is editor and founder of CATALYST. Gretchen@CatalystMagazine.net