Harville, Democrat win APA award

The Lebanon Democrat and Staff Writer Brian Harville took one of three first place awards in the American Planning Association's Journalism Awards Competition.
The three-day series "Little Pink Houses" on the impact of decentralized sewer in Middle Tennessee took first place for Harville and the newspaper in the small newspaper division or newspapers up to 50,000 in circulation.
The APA contest is in its 45th year, and the award is believed to be the first national journalism award ever won by the Democrat in its 120-year history.
The APA, with offices in Chicago and Washington D.C., is the premier organization for certified government planners and planning educators in the U.S.
The "Little Pink Houses" series chronicled the proliferation of on-site or decentralized sewers in rural areas of Wilson, Williamson and Rutherford counties. The on-site sewer boom is bringing on a residential growth explosion in the rural parts of those counties with literally thousands of homes planned in conjunction with the new wastewater technology.
The series made statewide news after being picked up by the Associated Press with the wire service version running in newspapers across Tennessee.
Harville said he was honored by the award, and thanked his co-workers who helped put the series together.
"It is a privilege to receive such a prestigious award from an organization like the APA," Harville said. "It was a team effort, and my peers in the newsroom deserve as much of the credit as I do."
Night News Editor J.K. Devine designed the layout for the series. Chief Photographer Bill Cook provided pictures and visual documentation of the decentralized sewer growth phenomenon. The series was edited by Managing Editor Clint Brewer.
Democrat Publisher Joseph H. Adams said the award was a testament to the hard work of Harville and the newspaper's staff.
"This award is proof that Wilson County has one of the best small daily newspaper in the South if not the entire country," Adams said. "It is a statement about The Lebanon Democrat's commitment to providing Wilson County readers with journalism that makes a difference in our community."
Other winners in the APA contest were The Rocky Mountain News in the over 100,000 circulation class and the Green Bay Press-Gazette in the circulation of 50,000 to 100,000 category.