Date: Fri 07-Feb-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

business-Hicks-young-careerist

Full Text:

SHANNON HICKS SELECTED AS BPW's YOUNG CAREERIST w/ cuts

B Y K AAREN V ALENTA

The Business and Professional Woman's Club of Newtown this week named

journalist Shannon Hicks as the recipient of its 1997 Young Careerist Award.

The annual award recognizes young successful women in Newtown.

A writer, photographer and arts editor for the Bee Publishing Company, Inc.,

Ms Hicks, 27, was honored during the BPW meeting Monday evening at the

Fireside Inn.

"It's very difficult to decide each year on the person to receive the honor as

the young careerist, but the judges were very impressed with Shannon's

enthusiasm - her entrepreneurial spirit really shone through," said Justina

Hansen, chairman of the competition. Ms Hicks was selected for the award by a

panel of judges which included Kathleen Broxton, Carol Kreshpan and Mary

Storer.

As arts editor for The Newtown Bee , Shannon Hicks is responsible for the

contents of "Enjoy," the newspaper's arts and entertainment section. She

writes and takes photographs for feature stores on people, groups and

businesses in and around the Newtown area; writes reviews and photographs

concerts around the state; produces a weekly column, "On The Road," with

information about musicians and the dates of upcoming concerts; and assembles

and updates a weekly calendar which lists information about everything from

art exhibits and events for children and families to theater and film

listings.

She also writes feature stories for the news section of The Newtown Bee and

for supplements such as Health Monitor and Brides.

"Everyone is interesting," she said, explaining the enthusiasm she brings to

her job. "I plan to continue finding people whose stories I can tell. I [will]

continue to be challenged to find and follow new leads, create new outlets of

arts and entertainment for readers throughout the area, and learn something

from everyone I meet, young and old, male and female."

The daughter of Marcia Hicks and the late Robert Hicks, Shannon Hicks is

originally from Southbury, where her mother still lives. Ms Hicks moved to

Newtown last year.

She is a coach for the Connecticut Special Olympics/Greater Danbury area

soccer, softball and volleyball teams, helped the Sandy Hook Organization for

Prosperity (SHOP) by playing the Easter bunny at its pancake breakfast last

spring, and spent last summer working for Morgen McLaughlin during the Jazz

Under the Stars concert series at McLaughlin Vineyards in Sandy Hook.

She has her own photography business, "shots by shannon," which captures the

images of people at work and at play.

For the past three months, she also has been filling in as the full-time copy

editor at The Bee Publishing Company for a colleague on maternity leave.

"[At the] Bee Publishing Company, I have enjoyed eight years of working and

networking in a professional environment that allows me not only to

communicate with the outside world but also learn from others on a daily

basis," Ms Hicks said, in accepting the Young Careerist Award.

"In following in the footsteps of previous winners, this award means I have

been recognized for excelling at something so many women accomplish by

instinct. It is important to follow our instincts - to be decisive even if it

means you might sometimes be wrong."

Ms Hicks will represent Newtown at the district Young Careerist competition in

Bethel on March 12. The winner of the district competition will participate in

the statewide competition in Hartford later this year.