Communicators employed by the Georgia Baptist Convention received national honors in the annual Wilmer C. Fields Awards Competition held in Denver in late April.

The competition was part of the Baptist Communicators annual professional development workshop. A total of 385 entries from 105 SBC state and national agencies were judged in the competition.

In addition, Christian Index Managing Editor Joe Westbury was named president of the group for the coming year. He will spend the year working alongside other officers elected at the gathering and will preside during next year's meeting in Richmond, Va.

Two Index staffers received honors for the first time. Kelly Durham, design editor who joined the state paper in May 2000, placed second in the Design Division for her design of three consecutive issues in 2004. Durham, who came to the Index following graduation from Gardner-Webb University in North Carolina, oversees the paper's layout and design, including advertising, photography, and copy.

J. Gerald Harris, editor of the Index since May 2003, received second place for his Easter editorial titled "The World's Greatest Comeback." He tied with Tony W. Cartledge, editor of the Biblical Recorder, state paper for North Carolina Baptists. Harris's editorial appeared in the April 8, 2004 edition of the Index.

Westbury received first place in the Interpretive Reporting category for his coverage of the anniversary of the 1904 Welsh Revival and its implications for today. The story, titled "Imagine a World: Analysis on the Welsh Revival," appeared in the Oct. 21 issue of the Index.

In the Audio-Visual Communications Division, three members of the state convention's Communications Ministry office received recognition for public relations excellence.

Second place in the Video PSA or Commercial category went to Diane Reasoner for an entry titled "God's Plan." Reasoner, an 18-year veteran with the GBC and specialist in the work unit, tied with Jeff Griswold of the North American Mission Board.

Her winning entry was for the television commercial which was part of the public relations campaign prior to the vote on the Georgia marriage amendment in Nov-ember.

Reasoner, a long-time communications professional in the denomination, served as president of BCA for 2001-2002.

Two other members of her unit, Jenny Brannan and Rod Hampton, placed first in the Audio News Report category for "Georgia Religion News This Week."

The nearly three-minute weekly program airs on 146 radio stations across the state. Brannan, administrative assistant, writes the script and Hampton supervises its production.

If interested in reading what Georgia Baptists are doing in the state of Georgia and beyond you can receive The Christian Index in your home, church, or give a subscription as a gift. Please call (770) 936-5592 for information so we can continue helping Georgia Baptists share the Good News.