Wisconsin Guard places among the best in the National Guard and U.S. Army media contests

March 16, 2010 - The Wisconsin National Guard earned four top spots in the 2009 National Guard media contest and took first in the U.S. Army's Maj. Gen. Keith L. Ware Public Affairs Competition for its' web-based publication.

The contests recognize military and civilian-employee print and broadcast practitioners for journalistic excellence across several categories including best print, web and video products.

At Ease, the official newsletter of the Wisconsin National Guard, earned first place in the Army's Keith L. Ware competition and will now compete against the other military services for the Department of Defense's Thomas Jefferson Award. NGB announced top finishers Friday (March 12), while Keith L. Ware recipients were released Monday (March 15). DoD winners are expected to be named in May.

The following four entries placed among the best in the National Guard:

First place, television news category goes to Staff Sgt. Mary Flynn, 112th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment, for her broadcast story on Rhythm n' Booms 2009.

The In the Zone newsletter, produced by the 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat team during their recent Iraq deployment, placed third in the newsletter/field newspaper category. The Wisconsin Guard also played a role in producing the first place field newsletter, The Wire, a Joint Task Force - Guantanamo publication produced by the 112th MPAD from March 2007 - March 2008. The Florida National Guard assumed editorial control in March 2008.

Spc. Meghan Phillips earned third place in the deployed television news report category for her broadcast story on a Coast Guard post security unit returning for another deployment to JTF-Guantanamo. Phillips also won third place in this category in 2008. She produced both reports during her 2008-2009 JTF-Guantanamo deployment with the 112th MPAD.

The At Ease earned second place in NGB's web-based publication category. Dating back to 2001, At Ease has earned three first place finishes for NGB and two first place Keith L. Ware awards. First Sgt. Vaughn Larson, At Ease editor, transitioned the award winning hard-copy publication to the web-based publication in 2009.

In depth information about both contests, including winning entries, can be found online at: 2009 National Guard media contest - and Maj. Gen. Keith L. Ware Public Affairs Competition.