Kentucky Press Association awards are hard to come by. Some journalists and photographers go entire careers never winning one.
But one Webster County teenager brought home a coveted photography award in his first competition.
Hunter Wilcox of Dixon claimed a second-place certificate in the Breaking News Photograph division during last month’s KPA meeting in Louisville. He took the winning photo when he was 17 years old.
“Hunter has always had a good eye for photography,” said Morgan McKinley, lead reporter for The Journal-Enterprise and Wilcox’s uncle. “He picked up a camera when he was nine and was getting some pretty amazing shots.”
The homeschool student earned the award with a picture he took during the summer of 2022 at Clay’s Cops & Kids event. The photo showed Police Chief Shane Moore going down an inflatable water slide with one of the kids in attendance.
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In the program describing the various award winners, KPA judges pointed to the fine detail of the water droplets in the air as one of the reasons they chose Wilcox’s photo as one of the top three entries in the category.
“I am really proud of the work Hunter has done with a camera the past year or so,” McKinley said. “I would hold his photos from last football season up against anyone’s work. For someone who has learned on the job, he has produced some solid images.”
Wilcox doesn’t plan to pursue a career in photojournalism, but believes he will continue to do photography as a hobby.
“I was so excited when I won this award,” Wilcox said. “It was unexpected.”
He is the youngest to ever win a KPA award at The Journal-Enterprise. The age of the youngest winner statewide could not be confirmed.