It was a very tough decision to choose the winners of The Sacramento Press 2012 Journalism Open.

Fifty-three community contributors shared 93 stories about the greater Sacramento area and the quality of submissions this year really impressed the judges.

Thank you to all of you who made this year’s Journalism Open a success.

The Sacramento Press judges were Casey Kirk, Director of Community Outreach, Brandon Darnell, Copy Editor and Reporter, and Colleen Belcher, Editor-in-Chief.

Each story was judged on newsworthiness, research and sources, spelling and grammar and how interesting they were. Each winner could only win one prize. Click here to read the complete judging criteria.

First place and $600 went to Ron Cooper for his story, “10 Reasons Why a 50-Year Parking Agreement is Bad for Sacramento.” Ron’s article was a thoughtful and thorough analysis of Sacramento and why its residents don’t need a 50-year parking agreement. His story was very timely and showed a genuine knowledge of and concern for the city of Sacramento.

Second place and $400 was awarded to Eileen Wilson for her story, “Women fight breast cancer - and win. Dr. Ernie Bodai shares his thoughts.” Eileen’s story brought to life the toll that breast cancer has on women. She also highlighted how it is becoming more common for younger women – in their 20s and 30s – to develop breast cancer. The real-life story of her mother Rita’s triumph was very powerful.

Jillena Hernandez won third place and $200 for her story titled “Corti Keeps Tradition of Balsamic Vinegar Alive.” Jillena opened our eyes to the world of traditional balsamic vinegar and Darrell Corti’s involvement in making it more accessible. We all learned quite a bit about the food industry – and we even learned that Corti has the equivalent of knighthood in Italy.

The three $100 honorable mentions went to Sherrie Cramer, Aaron Davis and Heather Ireland.

Sherrie shared the two-part story of her daughter’s brave battle with leukemia and the importance of blood marrow transplant donors titled “A Journey of Hope Part I” and “A Journey of Hope Part II.” Sherrie openly shared the painful story of losing her daughter to help bring awareness to the need for donors and how vital they are in saving lives.

Aaron’s article, "The indelible soul of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band," illustrates how powerful the force of music is, especially in New Orleans. Despite the devastating impact of Hurricane Katrina, music survived and kept people going as they picked up the pieces of their lives and tried to move forward. Aaron’s interview with The Preservation Hall Jazz Band showed how this band takes the jazz and history of New Orleans music with it wherever it performs.

Heather Ireland’s story “Local Man Fired for Feeding Cats” broke the record for most views on The Sacramento Press with nearly 15,000 views. Her in-depth look at 7Up employee Larry Ottoviani who lost his job for helping stray cats caught the attention of readers nationwide and even internationally. Because of her story, emails and phone calls have been pouring in to support Larry and a website is being set up for donations.

We chose four winners in the photography category: Steven Chea, Kati Garner, Marcos Hernandez and Ron Nabity. The $500 for this category was divided up evenly meaning each won $125.

Steven captured a great action shot of the crowd at a Wallpaper concert. The perspective makes the viewer feel like she is there in the crowd. Click here to see the article.

Kati covered the Crocker Art Museum’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration and her unique framing of the two singers around the grand piano caught our attention. Click here to see the article.

Marcos shot a photo to accompany his wife Jillena’s article about traditional balsamic vinegar. The photo is of a bottle of balsamic vinegar being drizzled over an Asian pear topped with goat cheese. The lighting and focus of the photo make it a true work of art. Click here to see the article.

Ron wrote a story about the Bike Lane Project on Freeport Boulevard and his accompanying photos really illustrate the need for bike lanes on the busy street. He attached his camera to his bike to get the winning photo, which shows a creative angle of a bike riding side by side with a car. Click here to see the article.

Again, we want to extend a huge thank you to everyone who entered the Journalism Open. We enjoyed seeing and meeting many of you at the Community All-Star Party Monday night.

Until next year!