Banner-Tribune wins two press association awards

Louisiana Press Association’s annual “Better Newspaper Contest” was held recently and the Banner-Tribune picked up two awards in its division.
Managing Editor Roger Emile Stouff garnered second place honors in the Best Feature Story bracket, and third place in the Best Photo Package corner.
Both awards were for a Sept. 19, 2018 feature story on the discovery of a 1,500 year old dugout canoe of Chitimacha origin in a commercial dirt pit near Belle River. Stouff is a member of the Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana.
“It was more than a story, it was an honor, to be present when this invaluable relic of my people’s past was excavated,” he said. “As a journalist it was an extraordinary event to cover, but as a man of Native American descent, it was a spiritual journey as well.”