Best Preps photo shoots build excitement for annual awards program

Published 5:40 am Wednesday, November 15, 2023

Professional photo shoots built excitement this week for what has become a premier program to honor student-athletes in East Texas.

The Tyler Morning Telegraph and Longview News-Journal, owned by local company M. Roberts Media, held the inaugural Best Preps Photo Shoots this week in Tyler and Longview, respectively.

The photo shoots are new to the annual Best Preps program, which will celebrate 10 years in Longview and six years in Tyler in 2024. Since its inception, the program has recognized outstanding high school student-athletes based not only on their athletic performance but also their GPA and their volunteerism and community involvement.

M. Roberts Media began taking nominations for fall sports earlier this fall. Participating coaches and athletic directors nominated one student from each sport. Each nominee was invited to first-ever photo shoots held in Longview on Monday and in Tyler on Tuesday. Along with getting their photos taken by a professional staff photographer, student-athletes and their families were also invited to enjoy food from Jucys Taco and play games while mingling with other area students and families.

The photos will be used in the inaugural Best Preps magazine set to publish in April when the awards programs will be held. The new magazine will highlight winners and nominees. Parents or businesses interested in advertising opportunities can contact Sales Manager Tracy Stopani at tstopani@mrobertsmedia.com or 903-237-7726.

This week’s photo shoots were made possible thanks to a number of community supporters, including Mobberly Baptist Church in Longview and First Presbyterian Church in Tyler which graciously offered their spaces as venues, respectively, for the shoots. Sponsors include Christus Orthopedics & Sports Medicine Institute, East Texas Professional Credit Union, Jucys Taco and Chick-fil-A.

The awards program recognizes the top student-athletes in 26 varsity sports from participating schools.

The nominations will be submitted to an independent selection committee that will vote on the overall winner for each varsity sport. Additionally, the selection committee will choose an overall male and female Athlete of the Year from the individual sport nominees. The Athlete of the Year recipients will each receive a $500 scholarship from the Tyler Morning Telegraph or Longview News-Journal. The selection committee will also choose several specialty awards based on the submitted nominations from the coaches.

While the fall nominee deadline has passed, spring nominations are still being accepted. March 8, 2024 is the deadline for spring student-athlete nominee submissions.

Winners will be announced at the 2024 banquets. Hundreds of people attend the banquets, respectively, each year.

The sixth annual Best Preps Tyler is set for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 30, at Green Acres Crosswalk Center. The 10th annual Best Preps ETVarsity set for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 24 at Maude Cobb Convention Center in Longview.

For more information, contact bestpreps@mrobertsmedia.com.

Parents or businesses interested in advertising opportunities can contact Sales Manager Tracy Stopani at tstopani@mrobertsmedia.com or 903-237-7726. For additional information, email bestpreps@mrobertsmedia.com.