Reynolds High Newspaper Named "Best in State"

Pine Whispers, the newspaper at Reynolds High School, has been named “Best in State.”

Ten Pine Whispers staff members and newspaper adviser Steve Hanf attended the annual Southern Interscholastic Press Association (SIPA) conference in Columbia, S.C., from Feb. 28 to March 2. The event included 465 students from Tampa, Fla., to Washington, D.C., and featured a variety of speakers discussing journalism-related topics.

Pine Whispers was named All-Southern for a third straight year – SIPA's top award for its 16-state region – and was awarded "Best High School Newspaper in North Carolina" by the panel of judges. Senior graphic artist Lyndsay Wilcox also received a "Best in Show" award for one of her newspaper illustrations.

Pine Whispers has been the student-produced newspaper at Reynolds since 1924. This year, 38 students in two classes work to inform and entertain the RJR community with eight print editions and a strong online presence at PineWhispers.com, @RJRPineWhispers on Twitter, and Facebook.com/PineWhispers.

Those in the picture are members of the Pine Whispers staff who attended the SIPA convention. They are: (front, from left) Maddi Swindle, Carrie McKim, Becca Royer and Sarita Muneton; (back) Steve Hanf, Ally O'Reilly, Anna Bringle, Joe Wilson, James Tatter, Alex Lawrence and Anna Fitzgerald.