JOURNAL reporter Elisa Miller was a commendable runner-up at the Community Newspapers Australia 2009 southern division awards on Friday night.
Elisa was nominated in the community service category for her story 'Community takes lead', in which she followed a fund-raising effort for Victoria's first seizure-response dog for Berwick toddler Tara and the O'Connell family early in 2008.
Tara endures up to 80 seizures a day and her parents were after a solution for years of sleepless, worrying nights.
The Berwick community rallied behind Tara to raise the necessary $29,000 to train a live-in alert dog.
Fairfax Media's Melbourne Weekly magazine won the special publication award for a 32-page holiday supplement.
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