Lowell Thomas award goes to Jad Davenport
by Felicia Russell (MA '07)

Freelance photographer and writer Jad Davenport (MA '98) never expected to win a Lowell Thomas Award. He didn't even know he was in the running.

"The Lowell Thomas was a great surprise," Davenport said. "I got this e-mail from the UK out of the blue – thought it was spam and almost deleted it. Turns out ISLANDS magazine submitted a story I wrote and photographed about South Georgia Island in the Antarctic called 'Ultimate Icebreaker.'"

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Davenport's article received the Lowell Thomas silver award in the environmental tourism category of the Society of American Travel Writers' Journalism Competition. This year, SATW received 1,490 entries in 27 categories, a record high for the competition. His article about the rebound of an island near Antarctica that once served as a sort of seal and whale slaughterhouse received high praise from judges, who called it "an entertaining and inspiring read about resurrection."

"It truly was one of my favorite stories to write and photograph," he said. "I thought, 'Wow! Here's a place that turned the tables on mankind.'"

That was the first award Davenport has won, and it's helped him land a few new assignments, including work with Sunset magazine. Although he loves international assignments, he said he's happy to stick closer to home with his wife, Karin, and 1-year-old daughter, Annika. His work can be seen at www.jaddavenport.com.