Last week, the Northwest Navigator was selected as the top “metro category” Navy newspaper, taking first place
in the annual Chief of Naval Information (CHINFO) Merit Awards. The Navigator will now represent the Navy in the
Department of Defense Thomas Jefferson Awards against first place Army and Air Force winners.
Other winners from commands in the Pacific Northwest were: 
- Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Fletcher Gibson, Naval Hospital Bremerton, who was named Navy print
Journalist of the Year. Gibson also got a first place nod in the feature article category;
- USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74), first place for Web publication, and an honorable mention in the Cruisebook
(large command) category;
- Mass Communication Specialist James Evans, USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) took second place in the
photojournalism category;
- and Key Portal News, Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Keyport, third place for newsletter format publication.
Region commands also swept the art-graphic in support of a publication category with Michelle Fletcher, Puget Sound
Naval Shipyard, taking first place; Mass Communication Specialist Jonathan Davis, USS John C. Stennis, nabbing second;
and Larry Parkhurst, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard finishing third.