Chronicle wins 8 SC Press Association awards for 2022 work

The Lexington County Chronicle brought home eight awards in the 2022 S.C. Press Association News Contest, including two first place honors.

The paper, which competes in the small weekly division of the contest, received the awards during the association's awards banquet and annual meeting March 10 in Columbia.

Reporter Kailee Kokes won first place for Breaking News Reporting for her thorough coverage of Batesburg-Leesville schools’ removal of the book “Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You” and the pushes made against the move from both the national and state level.

Graphic designer Cary Howard won first place for Page One Design for her spooky layout when the Chronicle visited several local haunted attractions last fall.

Among the other awards won by the paper for its 2022 work, the Chronicle was honored with second place in our division for General Excellence, which takes the full breadth of the publication into account.

As the paper’s editor, I’m proud to see it compete well against other papers our size, and I’m excited to keep growing and enriching the product moving forward.

The Chronicle’s full list of 2022 SCPA awards:

Breaking News Reporting (small weekly division)

First Place — Kailee Kokes

Second Place — Jordan Lawrence

Government Beat Reporting (small weekly division)

Second Place — Jordan Lawrence

Arts and Entertainment Writing (small weekly division)

Second Place — Jordan Lawrence

Page One Design (small weekly division)

First Place — Cary Howard

Photo Series or Story (small weekly division)

Second Place — Jordan Lawrence

Sports Video (all weekly division)

Third Place — Thomas Grant, Jr.

General Excellence (small weekly division)

Second Place