Milton Columnist Wins Top Blogging Award

A Milton writer has earned first prize from the National Society of Newspaper Columnists in the category of Online Blog and Multimedia Column for under 100,000 monthly visitors.

Suzette Martinez Standring earned the top spot in the 2013 competition for her spirituality column and blog, "Spiritual Cafe," which is nationally syndicated by GateHouse Media and appears locally in the Patriot Ledger.

The awards were made at the NSNC conference on June 29 in Hartford.

Standring was joined in the category by fellow New England columnists. Lisa Molinari of Newport, RI, and Mike Farley of Weymouth finished second and third.

Judge Mae Israel, formerly of The Washington Post wrote, “Standring's writing is compact but eloquently evokes emotion, and gently invites the reader to ponder their own personal involvement with the issues. She adeptly explores the humanity and challenges in dealing with a distant father, a samesex marriage and a 40th high school reunion. She writes about her reunion: "Yet that's what a 40-year reconnection is for; to travel back in time to the bloom of youth and camaraderie, and to feel nothing but gratitude." She is a thoughtful writer.”