The student newspaper at St. Louis Community College at Forest Park made history on April 12 at the Missouri College Media Convention.
The Scene won the Best in State award in the Missouri College Media Association’s annual contest, beating out newspapers at four-year universities in the upper three divisions for the first time in the MCMA leader’s memory.
“When they first called out (the winner), I was shocked,” said Carrington Davis, who became The Scene’s editor this spring. “It was surreal. It was really exciting.”
Staff and advisers traveled to the convention at University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg. They came home with the Avis Meyer Perpetual Cup trophy, which is now proudly displayed in their West Wing office.
The Best in State award is named for Avis Meyer, longtime St. Louis University journalism professor, former St. Louis Post-Dispatch copy editor and feature writer.
The Scene competes in Division 4, which is made up of community colleges in Missouri. It won first place in the Best Overall Newspaper category and second place in the Sweepstakes category, as well as 29 individual awards, for work that appeared in print and online during the 2024 calendar year.
“The best thing about our staff is its grit,” Davis said. “We push through, and whether we have 10 people or three people, we still get the paper out, which I think is really admirable.”
Jimmy Mowery scored two shutouts in the MCMA contest, winning first, second and third place in the Nonpolitical/ Entertainment Cartoon category and Story Illustration category.
A bittersweet part of The Scene’s contest showing was that it won three awards (News Writing, Photo Page and Website) with the help of the late Mason Dare, the staff’s former business manager, who died in January at age 23.
Here are the individual MCMA awards:
News Writing: Precious Kenney, second place; Rowan Behm, Coffee Clark and Mason Dare, third place; and Rowan Behm, honorable mention.
Feature Writing: Precious Kenney, second place.
In-Depth Reporting: Rowan Behm, second place; and Precious Kenney, third place.
Investigative Reporting: Rowan Behm, second place.
News photography: Coffee Clark, first place.
Feature Photography: Alexander Hernandez, first place; and Rowan Behm, second place.
Column: Coffee Clark, first and second place; and Sky Tucker, third place.
Entertainment Review: Markell Tompkins, first and third place.
Political/Editorial Cartoon: Jimmy Mowery, first place.
Nonpolitical/Entertainment Cartoon: Jimmy Mowery, first, second and third place.
Story Illustration: Jimmy Mowery, first, second and third place.
Photo Page: Sky Tucker and Rowan Behm, third place; Rowan Behm and Alexander Hernandez, honorable mention; and Rowan Behm and Mason Dare, honorable mention.
Feature Page: Rowan Behm and Elias Potts, second place; and Carrington Davis, honorable mention.
Website: Mason Dare and Jayda Griffin, second place.
Video: Rowan Behm, first place.