Grissom PA wins top command media contest honors Published March 14, 2014 By Tech. Sgt. Douglas Hays 434th ARW Public Affairs GRISSOM AIR RESERVE BASE, Ind. -- In the Air Force Reserve Command's version of journalism Olympics, the 434th Air Refueling Wing's public affairs staff took four gold medals, three silvers and a bronze. The top entries were announced March 11 by Lt. Gen. James F. Jackson, AFRC commander. The public affairs competition featured 317 web, print, graphic, still photo and broadcasting entries from 30 organizations. The Heartland Warrior took top honors in the web-based publication category and won overall as the best command publication. It was the third consecutive year Grissom's online magazine took top spot in the web category. Staff Sgt. Ben Mota, 434th ARW public affairs specialist, was awarded for his journalistic abilities in the news writing category for his story on Grissom Soldiers deploying in January 2013. Tech. Sgt. Mark Orders-Woempner, 434th ARW public affairs deputy chief, also took home a first place in the feature photo category with a photo of a 434th Civil Engineer Squadron explosive ordnance technician during an exercise. All of the first-place entries advanced to the Air Force Media Contest at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. While they Hoosier Wing PA warriors didn't finish first in every category, they did manage to pull out three second-place and one third place award. The office overall was voted to have the second best website in the command, finishing only second to the 507th Air Refueling Wing's site, which won first place throughout all of the Air Force. In the photojournalism category, Tech. Sgt. Mark Orders-Woempner claimed second place for his story on a joint exercise held at Grissom in August 2013. Judges reviewed both the quality of the story and his supporting photos. Orders-Woempner was also the runner up for the military print journalist of the year competition. This category required five separate entries that highlight the writing and photography skills across a variety of news and feature categories. His entries included two news entries, one about Grissom's new boom operator weapons system trainer, and how the wing took flight in Bold Quest to improve battlefield communications. He also had two feature stories judged. They were about psychological operation soldiers training as combat life savers and another about base employees uniting against domestic violence. The final entry in the category was for photojournalism where he outlined the EOD unit here and the 'long walk' they must make to do their jobs. Rounding out the awards was a third place finish for Orders-Woempner in the graphic illustration category for a winter safety graphic he created. For a complete list of all the AFRC Media Contest winners, click here. The 434th ARW public affairs office communicates the messages and stories of the largest KC-135R Stratotanker unit in the Air Force Reserve. Stay connected with the 434th ARW on Facebook and Twitter.
