Your Natchez Democrat last week upheld a long tradition by being recognized as one of the best community daily newspapers in the state.

This year, for the second year in a row, we won first place in general excellence for newspapers in the 9,000- to 20,000-circulation category, earning us sort of the Oscar for newspapers in the state. Notably, we are among the smallest newspapers in that circulation category.

But that’s probably not the award for which we were most proud.

The Democrat also won a third-place award for community service among all daily newspapers &045; including the big boys in Jackson, Tupelo and on the coast.

We were recognized for our work to shed light on the importance of beautification in Natchez, a subject which has been near and dear to the hearts of so many individuals and organizations in our community.

Our stories on the issue, including election coverage last year by

Nita McCann

, as well as other staff-written stories, editorials and columns, was well-received by everyone, and we were so glad to see Mayor Phillip West create a committee to look at beautification late last year.

That committee has undertaken both education and enforcement issues related to beautification, helping to teach people about the importance of keeping our community clean as well as enforcing ordinances designed to do just that.

This year, new groups such as Vision Natchez have joined others such as the chamber, Keep Natchez-Adams County Beautiful and the Natchez Downtown Development Association to take on projects related to beautification, and it’s great to see everyone’s efforts continuing.

The Democrat was recognized for its work across the board, from news to sports to photography to design to Web site and even headline writing. In all, we won 32 awards, including nine first-place awards.

Awards went to reporter Julie Finley, visual editor

Ben Hillyer

, sports editor

Adam Daigle

, photographer Molly Dempsey, community editor

Joan Gandy

and former reporter

Don McCraine

.

We have a terrifically talented team in the newsroom, and I’m proud to work with each person.

We’ve had a few changes around The Democrat lately, among them my name at the top of this column.

I’m proud to have added my new married name, Bean, to my byline, not only because I’m so happily married but also because I’m finally at the front of the line alphabetically.

It’s a bit of an unwieldy moniker, but somehow I just can’t shelve entirely the &8220;Whipple.&8221; Besides, if ever I want to start a coffee shop, I’ve been told I have the perfect name for it.

We also have a new intern working for us this summer. Jacqwi Campbell, a Natchez native who previously attended Cathedral School, is spending her break with us as a reporting intern.

Jacqwi, whom many of you have met on her assignments, is a pleasure to have on our team. Jacqwi is a student at the University of Missouri’s prestigious School of Journalism.

Kerry Whipple

Bean is editor of The Natchez Democrat. She can be reached at 601-445-3541 or by e-mail at

kerry.whipple@natchezdemocrat.com

.