Randolph Community College Graduate Named
Photographer of the Year

ASHEBORO (March 19, 2010)

Randolph Community College Photography graduate Jerry Wolford won the Photographer of the Year award for the Daily Division from the North Carolina Press Association.

Randolph Community College Photography graduate Jerry Wolford won the Hugh Morton Photographer of the Year award for the Daily Division from the North Carolina Press Association for 2009. Wolford was honored during an awards ceremony March 18 at the Dean Smith Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Wolford also won 2nd place in the best video category in the Daily Division, newspapers with circulation over 35,000. He lives in Randleman.

In the NCPA News, Editorial & Photojournalism Awards tabloid, Wolford's photos were described as follows: "Wolford's photos are funny. Wolford's photos are quirky. Wolford's photos are joyous. Wolford's photos are intense and sad. Wolford's photos are technically impressive and clean. Wolford's photos cover the gamut. They are great…"

Wolford, a photographer for the News & Record in Greensboro, earned his degree in Photographic Technology with a concentration in Photojournalism from Randolph Community College (then called Randolph Technical College) in 1986 and has received numerous awards including earning the Landmark Award of Excellence 12 times during his 20-year career with The News & Record. He also was named Photographer of the Year in 1987 by the North Carolina Press Photographers Association and has won numerous other awards from the N.C. Press Association, the N.C. Press Photographers Association, the Atlanta Seminar on Photojournalism, and the Southern Short Course in Photography. He was named an outstanding alumnus of Randolph Community College in 2005.

Wolford's photographs have appeared in periodicals and textbooks such as Newsweek, The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Business Week, Der Spiegel, Sports Illustrated, ACC Athlete, Our State, Cosmopolitan, Information Week, UNCG Sports Publications, The Big Click, and Photojournalism: The Professionals' Approach.

Additional RCC graduates who received awards from the N.C. Press Association include the following: Dylan Baker Ray, Carteret County News-Times, 3rd place, feature photography; Ken Martin, The Roxboro Courier-Times, 1st place, photo page; Brett Clark, The Elizabeth City Daily Advance, 2nd place and 3rd place, feature photography; Justin Falls, The Elizabeth City Daily Advance, 1st place, sports photography; Brooke Wolfe, The Sanford Herald, 2nd place, photo page; Mark Dolejs, The Durham Herald-Sun, 3rd place, general news photography; Jon C. Lakey, The Salisbury Post, 2nd place, sports photography and 3rd place, illustration/photo illustration; Robert C. Reed, The Hickory Daily Record, 2nd place, illustration/photo illustration; and Jennifer Rotenizer, The Winston-Salem Journal, third place, general news photography.