26/02/2026
FMA CHARLIE AWARD HUTCH. I finally found and purchased the ideal hutch for my Florida Magazine Association Charlie Awards! It now houses all 105 FMA awards I have won from 2007 to 2025. This is something I did not think was possible, but as soon as it became reachable, I ran with it. I won my first three FMA awards in 2007; two Silver and a Bronze. One of the silver and the bronze was for Best Feature, something I was told at the time was a major feat given Best Feature was the most coveted and thus the most competitive. I earned two out of three, a feat I was also told was never done before. It lit a fire under me. From 2007 to 2019, I won a total of 15 Charlie Awards, primarily for my work published in Ocala Magazine, with only two of them being Gold (AKA the Charlie). The first in 2016 for my Public Service Coverage done for Akers Media, and the second one for my first magazine, Elevate. At the time, only a digital magazine, so my two entries, Elevar (the Spanish language version) and Elevate won Gold and Silver — again history making. I thought that was it, then Embrace Magazine changed everything. We won 21 awards in 2021, our inaugural year, including Gold (Charlies) for Best New Magazine, Best Overall Magazine, and the (sole) Magazine of the Year — determined by the judges based on those that achieved the best in the Overall categories. We made history as the first, and currently only, start up magazine to win all three in the magazine's inaugural year. We kept up the momentum. In 2023, we swept the Best Overalls, winning Gold (Charlies) for all four categories: Best Overall Writing, Best Overall Design, Best Overall Digital Innovation, and Best Overall Magazine. We won our second Magazine of the Year, only one of three magazines to do so, and the only one to do it as a startup. Again, we made history that year, but not just for that and the Best Overall sweep. We also took home 15 Gold (Charlies) out of 23 awards. That was unheard of. To add perspective, some magazines could hope to top off at 15 or 16 awards altogether, if they we good. Few reached over 20, as Embrace had. Most magazines took home under 10 total. To hit 15 Gold Charlies, more than the total for other magazines, was stellar. In the end, throughout our short 5-year run, we amassed 90 awards, with 40 of them as Gold (Charlies). The other 15 were my original 15 from other magazines. I finally could display my awards as I have seen my former employers, Ocala Magazine and Akers Media do. This gives me tremendous pride and boosts my confidence. I feel like I can tackle anything. That's not all. I took some more photos of other awards that adorn my house. In total, 302. Too many to hang all, so I only hung the first place awards, and my finalist certificates for the Society of Professional Journalists Florida Chapter (SPJ Florida) as Journalist of the Year and Editor of the Year in 2024. I will approach my new book publishing career, and the career that pays my bills, with the same drive for exceptional achievement.
