Two BHC Staffers Earn Awards in Tennessee Contest

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Bristol Herald Courier sports writers Brian T. Smith and Allen Gregory each earned awards in the 2008-09 Tennessee Sports Writers Association writing contest.

Smith earned second place in the best series/investigative category for three stories documenting a five-year decline in East Tennessee State University men’s basketball home ticket sales. The series ran December 21, 2008, and explored the impact of ETSU’s relocation from the Southern Conference to the Atlantic Sun, as well as issues pertaining to seating capacity at the Memorial Center, the Buccaneers’ home court.

Smith also took second in the best news writer category for three separate stories. His entries included a breaking-news story on young NASCAR star Joey Logano taking over the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota Camry for Tony Stewart, as well as stories on ETSU athletics and on a reclassification decision by the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association.

Gregory finished third in outdoor writing. His entries featured a Bristol man in the growing sport of cowboy-action shooting; an examination into why fewer young people are involved in traditional outdoor sports such as hunting and fishing; and, a local outdoor media personality who harvested a deer during an “old-time” deer camp hunt in Wisconsin.