Place Name: First Place Contestant Name: Washington Business Journal Entry Title: Placemaking in Peril Entry Credit: Dan Brendel Judge Comment: Dan Brendel writes his stories with impressive research and lots of supporting information. This feels like the ultimate “Big Picture” story on economic development in a major city through the lens of “public investments and incentives” with a dash of politics. He seems well-connected to sources and knows the questions to ask and how to conduct research – a key for insightful marketplace stories. Excellent supporting map and graphics. Although this judge is only somewhat familiar with the geographic area in question, the reporting and supporting information made the subject matter easy to grasp.
Place Name: Second Place Contestant Name: Virginia Business Magazine Entry Title: W23 Virginia Business Griset Biz and Financial Writing Entry Credit: Rich Griset Judge Comment: Rich Griset of the Virginia Business Magazine hit a home run with this story on “A Smaller Slice of the Pie” regarding funding for minority and/or female-owned businesses. It’s my favorite of the two “diversity” story entries from this publication (the other entry was great, also). The story is easy to follow, and therefore, potentially can educate people. There are no overt political references in this story, although here in 2025, somehow “diversity” has been branded as a bad thing. Keep up the good work, Virginia Business Magazine.
Place Name: Third Place Contestant Name: Inside Business Entry Title: Hampton Roads companies find success with employee perks Entry Credit: Sandra Pennecke Judge Comment: Sandra J. Pennecke submitted three great stories for the Hampton Roads Business Journal; this one on “employee perks” was my favorite. “Life is hard and perks make work life a little more fun.” Yes, share that with your publisher! Wonderful story on small businesses doing things for their employees, “boosting morale and loyalty” and helping with employee retention. The story comes with “lessons learned,” which can help other businesspeople. Great work, Sandra, in a competitive category.
Competition Comment: Such a variety of entries in this category, obviously from major to smaller cities, so heavy competition for the awards. It’s difficult for a story about a wonderful small-town coffee shop to compete with an in-depth, big-picture metropolitan business topic. Still, this judge tries to spread the awards around and not simply reward what appear to be the biggest publications with the largest staff. Almost all the entries rated between 8 & 10, showing high quality throughout. Keep up the great work!
