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Dave Bakke from The State Journal-Register (Ill.) has been named Features Writer of the Year for Division A in the 2009 Best of GateHouse contest.
About his entry
Dave Bakke takes us inside Illinois’ Executive Mansion, tells the story of a mother struggling to care for her quadriplegic son and says goodbye to a local legend dying of cancer. After a lawyer for then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich said he was insulted that he had to sleep in a tiny bed in the Illinois’ Executive Mansion, Bakke decided to check it out himself. He measured the bed (not so small, actually), sampled the food and relaxed in the rec room – giving readers an insider’s tour. Bakke told both sides of the story when he wrote about a village seeking to shut off the power on a struggling widow. The woman owed thousands of dollars to the utility company as she cared for her disabled son, whose life depended on electricity-powered equipment. Bakke introduced us to Bob Waldmire, who lived in an old school bus when he wasn’t traveling Route 66 in his 1972 Volkswagen van. Bakke stayed with Waldmire as he bid farewell to his old friends and faced his last days before dying of cancer.
Judges’ comments
Bakke is praised for his “understated yet rich prose.” With the story about Illinois’ Executive Mansion, Bakke’s “subtle and clever writing gives readers sharp insight into the worldview of ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich.” He “manages to achieve compassion with balance” in his story about the struggling mother. And his profile of a well-known authority on Route 66 is “an elegant goodbye to a local legend.”
Finalist
Molly Beck, The State Journal Register, Springfield, Ill.
Special recognition
Saimi Bergmann The Repository, Canton, Ohio
Dave Bakke from The State Journal-Register (Ill.) has been named Features Writer of the Year for Division A in the 2009 Best of GateHouse contest.
About his entry
Dave Bakke takes us inside Illinois’ Executive Mansion, tells the story of a mother struggling to care for her quadriplegic son and says goodbye to a local legend dying of cancer. After a lawyer for then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich said he was insulted that he had to sleep in a tiny bed in the Illinois’ Executive Mansion, Bakke decided to check it out himself. He measured the bed (not so small, actually), sampled the food and relaxed in the rec room – giving readers an insider’s tour. Bakke told both sides of the story when he wrote about a village seeking to shut off the power on a struggling widow. The woman owed thousands of dollars to the utility company as she cared for her disabled son, whose life depended on electricity-powered equipment. Bakke introduced us to Bob Waldmire, who lived in an old school bus when he wasn’t traveling Route 66 in his 1972 Volkswagen van. Bakke stayed with Waldmire as he bid farewell to his old friends and faced his last days before dying of cancer.
Judges’ comments
Bakke is praised for his “understated yet rich prose.” With the story about Illinois’ Executive Mansion, Bakke’s “subtle and clever writing gives readers sharp insight into the worldview of ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich.” He “manages to achieve compassion with balance” in his story about the struggling mother. And his profile of a well-known authority on Route 66 is “an elegant goodbye to a local legend.”
Finalist
Molly Beck, The State Journal Register, Springfield, Ill.
Special recognition
Saimi Bergmann The Repository, Canton, Ohio
