Got word this weekend that a team of Naples Daily News reporters won the breaking news category for our division in the 2014 SPJ Awards.

Our submission involved coverage of former U.S. Congressman Trey Radel’s admission of drug use and the subsequent fallout.

Reporters in our newsroom went to D.C. to follow the Congressman there as well as to his local campaign headquarters and home.

My job in the weeks after was to approach Radel at his treatment facility where he was admitted for drug rehab as the public called for his resignation. 

Congrats to fellow reporters Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster, Jacob Carpenter and Eric Staats. Here’s the full list of winners.