Enterprise wins eight Texas Press awards

The Clarendon Enterprise received four first place awards during the Texas Press Association’s annual convention in Dallas last weekend.

Competing against other weekly newspapers in Division 9, the Enterprise placed in a total of eight categories in the Texas Better Newspaper Contest.

Elaina and Roger Estlack received first place in Editorial Writing. Judges called Elaina’s editorial on the state banning students from having cell phones at school “passionate” and “a point of view that too often goes under-represented,” and said Roger’s Sunshine Week editorial gave “important reminders of how the press is supposed to function and how that responsibility is being eroded.”

Elaina’s article on the Grass Daddies shooting a music video at the Mulkey Theatre and Roger’s article on Kenny King’s reflections of Clarendon’s influence on him won the Enterprise first place in Feature Writing.

Advertisements designed by Ashlee Estlack and Roger Estlack won first place, and judges also had good comments for the Tara Allred’s and Roger Estlack’s work in the Fall 2026 Clarendon Welcome Guide, which won first place in Special Sections: “This is what you aspire to be in a guide to the hometown. Good art, informative, solid presentation.”

The Enterprise received second place in News Writing, third place in Column Writing by Roger Estlack, fourth place in Sports Photography by Elaina and Roger Estlack, and fourth place in General Excellence.

The Sweepstakes Award in Division 9 went to the Luling Newsboy & Signal with 525 points. The Enterprise was second place in the Sweepstakes race with 475 points.

The Enterprise’s sister newspaper – The Greenbelt Intrepid (formerly The Red River Sun) – received second place recognition for Feature Writing in Division 7 and fourth place for Feature Photos.

A total of 103 Texas newspapers entered 1,020 entries in the contest across ten divisions. The contest was judged by the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association.

Representing Starfleet News Media at the awards ceremony were Publisher Roger Estlack, Managing Editor Elizabeth Tanner, and Contributing Editor Ashlee Estlack.