FIRST AMENDMENT FOUNDATION
ANNUAL OPEN GOVERNMENT AWARDS
24 June 2011
Pete Weitzel/Friend of the First Amendment Award
The First Amendment Foundation is pleased to announce it has awarded the Lake Helen and Sanford City commissions the 2011 Pete Weitzel/Friend of the First Amendment Award. Both commissions adopted ordinances that recognize the importance of public participation in the workings of government and encouraging such participation in all hearings, meetings, processes, programs, and operations. The nomination for the award was based on the commissions recognition of the value of citizen engagement which sets a standard for everyone at all levels of Florida government. Letters informing the city commissions of the award were sent to Mayor Buddy Snowden of Lake Helen and Mayor Jeff Triplett of Sanford.
The Pete Weitzel/Friend of the First Amendment Award was created in 1995 to recognize the significant contribution made by Pete Weitzel, former managing editor of The Miami Herald, and founder and past president of the First Amendment Foundation, in the area of open government. The Award is given annually to someone in Florida who has made a significant contribution to the cause of furthering open government. This is the first time in the history of the award that it has been given to a government agency.
Past recipients of the award can be found on the Foundation’s website, www.floridafaf.org.
James C. Adkins/Sunshine Litigation Award
Attorney Jon Kaney of Cobb & Cole, Daytona Beach, is only the second recipient of the James C. Adkins/Sunshine Litigation Award, which was created to recognize the importance and continuing value of Justice Adkins’ open government opinions while on the Florida Supreme Court. The award is given to an attorney in Florida who has made a significant contribution to the cause of furthering open government through litigation. Jon’s nomination for the award was based on his leadership role in The Bert Fish Foundation, Inc. v. Southeast Volusia Hospital District and his enduring commitment to ensuring that Florida government remains open and accessible to its people. Special thanks are owed to you, Jon, for all you’ve done. We greatly appreciate your efforts on behalf of the public and the First Amendment Foundation.
Sunshine Awards
Finally, the First Amendment Foundation is pleased to announce the winners of the annual Sunshine Awards for best article, political cartoon, op-ed/editorial, and column on open government during Sunshine Week 20011.
The winners are:
● Best Article – Michael Bender, St. Petersburg Times
● Best Political Cartoon – Jeff Parker, Florida today
● Best Editorial – The Palm Beach Post
● Best Column – Patsy Palmer, Esq., D’Alemberte & Palmer
All posts to the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors website (www.fsne.org) during Sunshine Week are automatically entered in the contest. Sunshine Week, a program first started in Florida in 2002, has grown and is now a national initiative to open a dialogue about the importance of open government and freedom of information.
This year’s awards were judged by Lucy Dalglish, Executive Director of the Reporter’s Committee for Freedom of the Press and incoming President of the National Freedom of Information Coalition Board of Directors.
All awards will be presented at the annual Florida Press Association and Florida Society of Newspaper Editors awards dinner on Friday, June 30 at The Vinoy in St. Petersburg. For more information, please call Barbara Petersen at (850) 224-4555 or (850) 212-8665.
Thank you,
Violetta Shekinah
First Amendment Foundation
336 E. College Ave., Suite 101
Tallahassee, FL 32301
Please help support the work of the First Amendment Foundation by making a donation today.
To donate, go to: www.floridafaf.org
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