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Heralds win 2 national writing awards

Suburban Newspapers of America announces 2010 editorial winners

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The Herald Community Newspapers won two top awards, for Best Column Writing and Best Feature, in the 2010 Suburban Newspapers of America Editorial Contest, the SNA announced March 18.

Mary Malloy, editor of the Lynbrook/East Rockaway Herald since 2006, won the award for column writing, while the Heralds’ copy editor, Jim Harmon, won for Best Feature.

“I’m thrilled to get this award,” Malloy said of her winning series of columns, “Writing On the Wall.” “My columns are usually a lighthearted look at everyday life, and each one is very personal to me. I always hope the reader can identify with them.”

Harmon, who joined the Heralds in 2002, said he was honored by the award. “This was a challenging story to write,” he said of his winning feature, “Steve McGrain: The star-crossed life of an All-American,” “because it was a very different kind of obituary.”

The SNA’s annual awards recognize the work of writers and photographers at newspapers across the U.S. as well as Canada. The organization receives thousands of entries each year.

“I’m happy about the awards,” said the Heralds’ executive editor, John O’Connell. “Mary and Jim should be deservedly proud of the recognition in these extremely competitive categories. And, frankly, I’m proud of the work the entire Herald staff does each and every week in Editorial and all the other departments to bring our readers — and visitors to liherald.com — quality journalism that matters to the people in the communities we cover.”

The Herald Community Newspapers are published by Richner Communications, whose offices are in Garden City. Richner also publishes The Jewish Star, The Oyster Bay Guardian and the Riverdale Press, and the Press also won awards in several categories: Best Photojournalism, Best Breaking News Story, second place for In-Depth Reporting, second place for Feature Series and honorable mention in the Feature category.