The New Mexico Press Women thanks all individuals who participated in the 2023 Communications Contest and Congratulates to all the winners!
Full list of winners below:
2023 NMPW Communications Contest Results
Melanie Stansbury
Born and raised in New Mexico, Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury leads with determination and compassion. She has dedicated her career to finding solutions to water issues, poverty, and climate change — representing New Mexico in the Legislature and now in Congress.
She is a champion of efforts to address hunger, food, and water insecurity, conservation and climate change, and economic development and recovery. Stansbury worked in communities across the state as a STEM educator, researcher on land and water issues, and served as a former staffer in the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the White House Office of Management and Budget.
As the Congresswoman from New Mexico’s 1st Congressional District, she will share her efforts to tackle our biggest challenges—from economic development, to food and water security, to climate change—with New Mexico Press Women on Saturday, March 11, at the Isleta Resort.
The Communicator of Achievement Award is the highest award New Mexico Press Women grants to a member to recognize outstanding achievement in journalism and communication. All New Mexico winners proceed to compete in the National Federation of Press Women Contest, where New Mexico has had more winners than any other state.
NMPW Communicators of Achievement
(Woman of Achievement until 1991)
1963 Frankie McCarty
1964 Val Cooper
1965 Mildred Latini
1966 Ruth Bush Jones
1967 Kathryn Morris
1968 Cathie Bower
1969 Regina Tatum Cooke
1970 Alice Gruver
1971 Mary Olin Harrell
1972 Laura Robertson
1973 Glenna Lee Gallemore
1975 Grace McCallum
1979 Kathryn Morris
1980 Sherry Robinson
National First Runner-Up
1981 Faye Plank
National Winner
1982 Tricia Hurst
1983 Jean Jordan
1984 Della Kilcrease
1985 Mary Thompson
1986 Lynn Peters
1987 Marie Hirst
1988 Anne Hillerman
1989 Mamie Carter
1990 Mamie Carter
1991 Cathy Robbins
1992 Marsha Vohs
1993 Pat Graff
1994 Hollis Walker
1995 Denise Tessier
National First Runner-Up
1996 Virginia Dooley
1997 Linda Harris
1998 Chris Burroughs
1999 Carolyn Mullenax Edwards
2000 Sandy Schauer
2003 Susanne Burks
2004 Kathy Cordova
2005 Ree Strange Sheck
National Winner
2006 Emily Drabanski
2007 Connie Gotsch
2008 Cary Herz
National Winner
2009 Susan Walton
2010 Tom Berner
2011 Bud Russo
2012 Cheryl Fallstead
2013 Carol Kreis
2014 Sherri Burr
2015 Anne Hillerman
National First Runner-Up
2016 Loretta Hall
National Winner
2018 Jessica Savage
2020 Damien Wills
2021 Sherri Burr
National Winner
2022 Margaret Cheasebro
Note: No awards were made in 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 2001, 2002, 2017 or 2019.
This list was compiled by current historian Robert Flinkman and long-term historian Denise Tessier.