Stars shine on GBN team
FROM STAFF REPORTS Gulf Breeze News news@gulfbreezenews.com

After serving as associate editor for close to two months, Franklin Hayes has moved up the ladder at Gulf Breeze News to editor. The award-winning writer happily accepted his position and said he is excited about continuing his work with the award-winning staff at Gulf Breeze News.

Hayes won second place for "Religion Writing" in the Florida Press Association's 2006 Better Weekly Newspaper contest. Sports Editor Jason Thompson won first place for "Best Sports Page/Section" and Art Director Nick Stamenkovich won first place for "Best Individual Graphic" in all circulation divisions of the 2006 editorial contest.

Although flattering, winning state editorial awards is nothing new for Thompson and Stamenkovich.

"I've been in the journalism business for almost 16 years - 14 of those at weekly newspapers," Thompson said. "I've won at least one award at every weekly paper I've been."

Stamenkovich said he has been a graphic artist for 10 years and won more state awards than he can remember for editorial and advertising design. His previous honors include two "Best Overall Graphic Design" awards at two different newspapers.

"I lost count after 50," Stamenkovich said of his multiple honors.

Hayes said his award-winning piece, entitled "'Jesus Camp' Documentary Opens in Gulf Breeze," was an attempt to correct some popular misconceptions about the film.

"As a Christian, I was obviously drawn to the material and I was concerned about inaccuracies being disseminated by national media sources," Hayes said. "I got a chance to speak with one of the film's directors and she confirmed my suspicion. I thought it was a good piece, but I was still surprised to win an award for it."

Hayes, 25, was originally hired as staff writer in November of 2005, not long after graduating from the University of West Florida with a bachelor's degree in public relations. During his collegiate career, Hayes completed an internship with Junior Achievement of Northwest Florida.

"Junior Achievement was a great opportunity for me in that I got some real hands on experience in coordinating a major fundraiser," Hayes said, explaining his role in helping plan Mardi Gras Bowl 2004. "It takes some work to keep track of 600 participants and make sure they're all accounted for. Of course, being a part-time intern, I only saw a small piece of the action. But, I have a lot of respect for the people that do that on a regular basis. Frances Yeo is the executive director over there and she really does a fantastic job."