Island Packet & Beaufort Gazette win 40 SC press association awards, President’s Cup

For the third time in five years, The Island Packet has been named the winner of the President’s Cup for most outstanding newspaper in South Carolina Press Association judging.

In all, the Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette received 40 awards, including 18 first places, for work done throughout 2019, including a series that followed an old Beaufort County murder case as it was solved, reporting that held an Okatie landfill owner to account when the trash pile became toxic and columns from David Lauderdale that helped preserve the Lowcountry’s classic color.

The newspapers’ work was entered alongside other daily newspapers across South Carolina with circulation between 10,000 and 30,000. Journalists from The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette swept three categories: Enterprise reporting, reporting in depth and lifestyle feature writing.

Here’s a breakdown of which stories won big:

First Place wins for The Island Packet/ Beaufort Gazette

News Video: Ashley Francis for Paul Murdaugh charged in Feb. 24 boat crash that killed Mallory Beach

Food Writing: David Lauderdale for his tribute to Gwen & Franny’s Fried Chicken, Forget the Popeyes, Chick-fil-A wars. SC’s best chicken sandwich is in Hardeeville.

Photo Illustration: Drew Martin for his D-Day Heroes illustration.

Enterprise Reporting: Kacen Bayless for uncovering Beaufort County’s “contingency account” in Hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars spent without any oversight. And there’s nothing stopping it

Reporting In Depth: Kacen Bayless for his dogged reporting of the toxic trash facility in Okatie that landed the site’s owner in court over violations of the Pollution Control Act and The Solid Waste Policy and Management Act.

Government Beat Reporting: Kacen Bayless for the following articles about Beaufort County government:

• Hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars spent without any oversight. And there’s nothing stopping it

• Transparency does not need to be top priority, council chairman says

• He lived and voted in another state. Why was he allowed to serve on Beaufort County Council?

Growth and Development Beat Reporting: Kacen Bayless for the following articles:

• Sprawling development projects from 2008 return to Beaufort Co. What it means for neighbors

• 674 new homes could be coming to Bluffton. Some residents want more transparency

• Approved RV Resort for Beaufort Co. may harm the environment, neighbors say

Feature Headline Writing: Lisa Wilson for the following headlines:

• If you see horseshoe crabs having sex on Hilton Head, take a picture. Yes, seriously

• Build a brrrr: Hilton Head snow cone shop doubles as Lego sculpture gallery

• This Beaufort woman isn’t afraid of getting muddy. And she’ll prove it on TV Thursday

Short Story: Lisa Wilson for Bluffton man has reason to worry about hurricanes: 15,000 golf balls in his attic

Editorial or Column in Support of FOI Open Government Issues: Liz Farrell for Over and again, Beaufort Co. school board’s secrecy only makes things messier

Series of Articles: Liz Farrell for her multi-story series about a previously unsolved cold case from 1980 in “Monster Unknown”

Digital Project: Liz Farrell, Drew Martin and Ashley Reese for their work on “Monster Unknown”

Election Political Coverage: Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette staff for coverage of the Beaufort County School Board Referendum

Sports Section or Magazine: Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette staff for the RBC Heritage Golf Tournament special section in 2019.

Beat Reporting: Teresa Moss for her crime reporting:

• He ran into daughter’s killer in Beaufort restaurant. 4 months later, dad killed himself

• Maybe his phone was dead? Beaufort Co. mom haunted month after teen vanishes

• He was released from prison in April. Now he’s charged with murdering a Beaufort woman

Obituary: Wade Livingston for Hilton Head woman was a famous twin model, but her art is what she’s remembered for

Lifestyle Feature Writing: Wade Livingston for Two Beaufort County families found each other while battling this crippling illness

Arts and Entertainment Writing: Wade Livingston for SC rocker’s guitar went missing on Hilton Head 10 years ago. Here’s where he found it

Second Place wins for The Island Packet/ Beaufort Gazette

Reporting In Depth: Alex Kincaid and Katherine Kokal for a four-story series that detailed higher medical costs in Beaufort and Jasper Counties — ‘Totally ridiculous:’ You may pay more to visit these hospitals in Beaufort, Jasper counties

Sports Video: Ashley Francis for Hilton Head crew hooks 7 sharks in a day — and one was ‘almost as wide as the boat’

Editorial Writing: David Lauderdale for the following columns:

• Hilton Head principal sex in the school case demands clarity from superintendent

• No! It’s his job. Hilton Head mayor deserves no extra pay for Hurricane Dorian

• Fight against toxic trash mountain burning in Okatie has only just begun

Series of Articles: David Lauderdale for his Gentleman Bandit series, which detailed the release of well-dressed robber Drew Dobson.

Government Beat Reporting: Katherine Kokal for her coverage of Hilton Head Island:

• Hilton Head: Hilton Head leaders will travel to Italian sister city in June. Who’s paying for it?

• With soaring rent and staff shortages, what happens to Hilton Head? Experts say it’s grim

• Hilton Head mayor’s expenses in 9 months nearly what predecessor got in 4 years

Growth and Development Beat Reporting: Katherine Kokal for her reporting on development threatening historic sites and families on Hilton Head Island:

• ‘The church was there first’: Hilton Head historic sites being moved for airport expansion

• ‘It’s a shame to be thrown out’: Landmark Hilton Head businesses given 45 days to move

• In the shadow of development: 16 Hilton Head families displaced as land is sold

Single Sports Page Design: Kelly Lipp for the design of the 2019 RBC Heritage special section

Lifestyle Feature Writing: Lana Ferguson for ‘She knows that’s our son.’ Port Royal mom survives surgeries, memory loss to meet baby

Enterprise Reporting: Maggie Angst for Former superintendent Moss broke protocol, ran Hilton Head principal probe, district says

Spot Sports Story: Mandy Matney for Hilton Head man hooks 7 great white sharks in 8 hours. The last shark was a 2,600-lb ‘hog’

Newspaper’s Use of Social Media: Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette staff

Third Place wins for The Island Packet/ Beaufort Gazette

Pictorial: Collins Daughtie for “The May River glows at sunrise.”

Column Writing: David Lauderdale for his columns:

• Justice now center stage in boat wreck that killed teen

• So why does it hurt when a Hilton Head grocery store says it’s closing

• ‘Mama, we found each other’: Bluffton man united with family he never knew he had

Sports Column Writing: David Lauderdale for his columns:

• Meet the stranger who won the RBC Heritage: ‘Make every day better than every yesterday’

• Why hasn’t Tiger Woods played the RBC Heritage in 20 years

• Why the Chicago Cubs’ Jason Heyward sent $20K to a women’s group in Beaufort

Photo Illustration: Drew Martin for his illustration of the construction fencing in front of Hilton Head Island’s Lowcountry Celebration Park

Investigative Reporting: Kacen Bayless for his series of articles on Beaufort County government:

• He lived and voted in another state. Why was he allowed to serve on Beaufort County Council?

• Former Beaufort County councilman is registered to vote in both SC and NC. What happened?

• SLED investigating former Beaufort Co. councilman who lived and voted in another state

Food Writing: Katherine Kokal for SC man flies 100 miles to Hilton Head just for this dessert. Here’s why

Reporting in Depth: Liz Farrell and Maggie Angst for their reporting on the Hilton Head Island Principal’s affair on campus.

Enterprise Reporting: Mandy Matney for More than half of SC alligator attacks were in Beaufort County. Why so many on Hilton Head?

Sports Enterprise Reporting: Mandy Matney for ‘It’s just cruel’: Shark fishing on Hilton Head beaches is illegal. Why do we keep seeing it?

Education Beat Reporting: Rachel Jones for her series of articles:

• Beaufort County School Board: SC attorney general to Beaufort Co. school board: You can’t remove a member

• Fired employee says Bluffton after-care program abruptly closed after she raised concerns

• Newest Bluffton neighborhoods won’t be sending kids to schools closest to them

Sports Beat Reporting: Stephen Fastenau for his coverage of Beaufort County sports:

• Game between Beaufort County football rivals postponed due to threat of violence

• A once popular Beaufort Co. golf course is overgrown and closed. Will it come back?

• It’s DJ after 3: SC native, world’s top golfer atop leaderboard at RBC Heritage

Lifestyle Feature Writing: Wade Livingston for SC rocker’s guitar went missing on Hilton Head 10 years ago. Here’s where he found it

Katherine Kokal

The Island Packet

843-560-9158

Katherine Kokal graduated from the University of Missouri School of Journalism and joined The Island Packet newsroom in 2018. Before moving to the Lowcountry, she worked as an interviewer and translator at a nonprofit in Barcelona and at two NPR member stations. At The Island Packet, Katherine covers Hilton Head Island’s government, environment, development, beaches and the all-important Loggerhead Sea Turtle. She has earned South Carolina Press Association Awards for in-depth reporting, government beat reporting, business beat reporting, growth and development reporting, food writing and for her use of social media.