SPECIAL TO THE AMERICAN PRESS

The Hector San Miguel Memorial Fund is seeking nominations for its second award recipient.

An annual award has been set up to honor Hector San Miguel, an award-winning American Press reporter and editor who died in December 2009 of complications from leukemia.

“Hector left an indelible mark on Southwest Louisiana through an award-winning journalism career driven by his relentless pursuit of the truth. His memory will be honored by recognizing others for their excellence in journalism,” said Sonny Marks, chairman of the fund advisory board.

Fund recipients must have produced outstanding achievements in journalism and must have shown a relentless pursuit of the truth, and they must live in the five-parish area, or their work must have made a substantial, positive impact on Southwest Louisiana.

Marks said the memorial fund is a way for San Miguel’s “legacy to live on for years to come by honoring journalists and others who display the same qualities and spirit as Hector in all that they do.”

Along with the Community Foundation of Southwest Louisiana, the foundation’s goal is to give an annual award stipend to the award recipient. The Community Foundation, a nonprofit organization that assists donors and philanthropists with their charitable giving, holds the fund in a field of interest endowment.

The second annual Hector San Miguel Memorial Fund award recipient will be honored at a Dec. 1 luncheon at L’Auberge Casino Resort.

National political analyst Charlie Cook will be the keynote speaker. Cook is editor and publisher of The Cook Political Report and columnist for the National Journal.

Jim Beam, retired editor of the American Press, won the inaugural award last year.

Email nominations, including a brief description of the candidates’ work, to lverrette@foundationswla.org; mail to the attention of the Hector San Miguel Memorial Fund, Community Foundation of Southwest Louisiana, P.O. Box 3125, Lake Charles, LA 70602, or fax to 491-6710. No clips, videos or other supporting material should be submitted, but the person making the nomination should include his or her contact information.

The deadline to enter nominations is Oct. 15.

Also, anyone who would like to donate to the award fund can contact the Community Foundation of Southwest Louisiana at lverrette @foundationswla.org or 491-6688. All donations are tax deductible.