Barnes wins national award for opinion writing
Editorial shows support for Gary Hahn, former NC State announcer
 Clifton Barnes of Cary has won a national award for Editorial & Advocacy writing.
Writing for CapitalSportsNC, Barnes won an Award of Excellence from the DC area-based Communications Concepts through its 2024 Awards for Publication Excellence (APEX) competition.
Barnes, a native of Rocky Mount, was one of seven winners nationally in the category.
The opinion piece - titled "Media Unfairly Criticizes Hahn, Longtime Voice of N.C. State Athletics, Who Announces Retirement" - can be found online at capitalsportsnc.com/?p=1824855 .
Barnes came to the defense of N.C. State athletics play-by-play announcer Gary Hahn, who was heavily criticized for an offhand comment he made about illegal immigration.
"Virtually no one in the mainstream media came to Hahn's defense, just the opposite as a matter of fact," Barnes said. "In light of the unfairness of the situation and the fact that I have studied the issue of immigration since the 1990s and knew that what he stated was simply factual, I felt compelled to speak up. As I said in the editorial, he deserved better than that."
One judge wrote, "The author lays out all the facts surrounding a politically charged situation surrounding a longtime sportscaster's retirement, while also expressing his opinion.”
Another judge wrote, "The author presents a thoughtful and thorough reporting of the issue and lets the readers make their decision on how they feel about the situation."
Although Barnes has twice won awards for column writing, this is the first time Barnes has won an award for editorial writing in the APEX competition. This is the 14th year in a row that he has won at least one award in the APEX national competition, including awards for sports-related articles, law-related articles, business-related articles, opinion pieces, social media and website development.
Barnes has won nearly 100 awards over the years from various organizations including the N.C. Press Association, the National Association of Bar Executives, the N.C Society of Historians, the Carolinas Association of Business Communicators and the National Newspaper Association.
Barnes served as director of communications for the N.C. Bar Association for 15 years and, before that, was a newspaper writer and editor.
Today he is a freelance writer - having written numerous articles for the UNC General Alumni Association over the years - who owns several websites, including one that chronicles each UNC basketball game.
Barnes, who was sports editor of the Daily Tar Heel while in college, is known for spear-heading movements to get a highway marker for former bandleader Kay Kyser in Rocky Mount and a yearly Hometown Spirit Award in Cary. Also in 2024, Barnes held a Kay Kyser tribute event at the Braswell Library in Rocky Mount which featured video clips and in-person comments from Kyser's daughter Kimberly.
Along with his wife Andrea, he has raised their 18-year-old son Will, who is a freshman at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee. Barnes is the son of W.C. (deceased) and Lorraine Barnes of Atlantic Beach.
    
   
    
    
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