Collins wins Hartman award

Stephen Collins, veteran sports editor of The Alvin Sun and The Alvin Advertiser, was awarded the Fred Hartman Award by the Texas Press Association. 
Fred Hartman, grandson of the award’s namesake, made the presentation at the Texas Press Association Convention and Trade Show in Denton. He noted that Collins, a long-time employee of the Hartman Newspapers publication The Alvin Sun, was a two-time winner of the award. He was previously honored in 2014.
“For many years, Steve has been the voice of sports in Alvin, Manvel and now the Shadow Creek area of Pearland,” Publisher David Rupkalvis said in an article published in The Alvin Sun. 
“He has made it his mission to tell the stories of the young men and women who put in countless hours to excel in athletics.” 
At the presentation, Hartman read the judge’s comments on Collins’ work.
“Two entries were really close. In the end, I looked at the way in which the two best dealt with the specific audiences they serve.
“Stephen covers Alvin sports much like the morning dew, to borrow an old phrase from the Atlanta, Ga. Journal and Constitution. He is a prolific writer. His topics range from the current back to reflecting on the old, helping newcomers to the community appreciate past accomplishments of the growing communities that Alvin serves. 
“And unlike some sports writers, mimicking what they read in the metros and hear and see on Sports Center, Stephen does not drown his work with well-worn clichés. The secret to great writing is efficiency of words, not the number of words. Stephen accomplishes that.” 
Hartman said the award honors sports writing because that was his grandfather’s starting point and first love in his newspaper career.
Fred Hartman began his distinguished newspaper career as a sportswriter before moving on to greater roles in the newspaper industry. As a publisher, editor and later founder of Hartman Newspapers, the parent company of The Alvin Sun and The Alvin Advertiser, Fred Hartman distinguished himself as one of the best in the Texas newspaper industry. 
He was inducted into the Texas Newspaper Hall of Fame in 2014. 
The award, sponsored by Hartman Newspapers, rotates between large papers and small papers. This year’s award was for writers working at newspapers of less than 10,000 circulation. The honor carries a $1,000 award.