Dateline: January 29, 2004

Texas Press gives top honors to Enterprise anniversary issue

By Roger Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise

The Clarendon Enterprise set a new record and bested all other entries in the Texas Press Association’s Mid-Winter Special Section Contest during the 57th TPA Mid-Winter Conference & Trade Show last Friday in Houston.

The 125th Anniversary Edition of the Enterprise, an issue that was three years in the making, took first place in its category and received Best of Show honors, which put it above all other entries, including those from several large daily newspapers.

“This was a big win for us because even though we were one of the smallest papers entered in the contest, we came out ahead of papers many times our size,” said Editor Roger Estlack.

“It was a lot of hard work to put that issue together. We felt good about our chances at the contest, but the results exceeded our expectations.”

A total of 96 papers entered the contest, and the Enterprise was among ten newspapers that competed in the small weekly division of the contest.

Judges from the University of Texas, Texas Christian University, and the Austin Advertising Federation selected three top finalists in each division; and then registered convention attendees cast votes for the winner of each division and the overall Best of Show.

According to TPA officials, 153 votes were cast at the convention, and the Enterprise received 111 votes or 73 percent, to win its category, thus setting a new record for the contest.

In the Best of Show tally, the Enterprise received 24 votes, and its closest competitor received 16.

Among the winners of other categories were The Freer Press, The (Aledo) Community News, The Cameron Herald, The Graham Leader, the Polk County Enterprise, the Denton Record-Chronicle, and the Stephenville Empire-Tribune. Contest entries also included those from Amarillo, Odessa, Conroe, Brownwood, and many others.

Representing The Clarendon Enterprise at the convention and accepting the award were Editor Roger Estlack and Web Master Ashlee Kidd.

The 125th Anniversary Edition was published June 5, 2003, and chronicled the history of the Texas Panhandle’s first newspaper from its establishment on June 1, 1878, as The Clarendon News by Rev. Lewis H. Carhart and its role in recording the history of the community and all of Donley County.

A limited number of the anniversary editions are still available for sale, and portions of the edition have been uploaded to the Enterprise’s Web site at www.ClarendonOnline.com/history.