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It was an exciting night for our magazine at the Kern Press Club awards last night, May 18.

Let me just tell you that there is some really great talent in Kern County when it comes to print products. And not that I didn't think what we submitted was good, it was good, I just really didn't expect to win because there is a lot of tough competition for us to be up against.

I just felt so surprised to first hear my name called and then the names of two photojournalists. We were crowded in a room of real talent when it comes to journalism. So wow, we won!

I think one of the most surprising wins was that I got an award in the sports category. As a reporter here, I pretty much had to do every kind of story. I must say that I really struggled with the sports stories because I'm not really much of a sports fan. So winning  that was really surprising.

Anyway, here's how the awards stacked up:

-Print, light feature: Lisa Wuertz, "Bringing 'Bobby' back"
-Still photo, sports series: Roger Hornback, "An explosive night for the Bridgade" (sorry I can't find the link)
-Still photo, feature series: Lydia Gonzales, "Tending la cultura"
-Print, sports feature: Lisa Wuertz, "Jesse Toledo: Coach, mentor, friend comes full circle"