VIRGINIA PRESS ASSOCIATION AWARDS

Barber wins first VPA awards

Park Ridge High School graduate Mike Barber won his first two Virginia Press Association awards Saturday, March 8. Barber, in his first year as a sports writer for the Daily News-Record in Harrisonburg, Va. won first place in the sports writing portfolio category and third place in sports news writing."Any time anyone recognizes and compliments your work it's encouraging," said the 24-year-old Rutgers University graduate. "I deeply appreciate these honors."

The portfolio included seven select stories from the past year. The sports news story was a profile of a youth group's efforts to quell neighborhood crime by founding a basketball league for area children.

On Barber's behalf, colleagues from the Daily News-Record accepted the awards at the VPA banquet in Norfolk. Barber was on assignment in Salem.

Barber won four New Jersey Press Association collegiate writing awards while at Rutgers, including three first place citations.