Leader writer earns DA crown jewel for journalists         Staff Report

Mike A. Glasch, a staff writer for The Fort Jackson Leader, recently was named the Department of the Army Civilian Print Journalist of the Year. The award is one of the crown jewels of the annual Keith L. Ware Journalism Awards competition, which pits Army journalists –– broadcast and print, civilian and military –– against each other at the beginning of each year. Glasch also won a DA first-place award for a feature story. Leading up to the DA-level competition, Glasch gathered four awards at the Installation Management Command-Southeast level, including Civilian Print Journalist of the Year. Glasch’s other awards at the IMCOM-SE level include: First place for Feature Story, first and second place for Sports Story. Although he took highest honors at the regional and DA levels, Glasch was not the only Leader team member to win awards. In fact, the Leader has won 14 of 44 regional-level awards and three DA-level awards as well as a DA-level honorable mention. Leader editor Carrie David Ford garnered three awards at the regional level –– a first place and a third-place tie for a Commentary and third place for a Stand Alone Photo. She also took second place at the DA level for a civilian Commentary. Kristen Marquez, a Department of the Army Public Affairs Office intern, won first place in Photojournalism and second place in Commentary. She received an honorable mention for civilian photojournalism at the DA level. Newly hired staff writer Susanne Kappler won a first-place and two second-place awards for writing and photography in the stringer category, respectively. The Leader itself took second place both in the Tabloid Publication required edition and the Tabloid Publication editor’s choice edition. The Keith L. Ware competition recognizes the journalistic excellence of Army military and civilian journalists. It’s named in memory of Maj. Gen. Keith L. Ware, former Army Chief of Public Affairs. Ware received the Medal of Honor in World War II and was killed while commanding the 1st Infantry Division in Vietnam in 1968.