Whitehouse alum Waylon Cunningham earns Pulitzer Prize. (Contributed Photo)

1. LIST: Pulitzer Prizes by Year

Whitehouse alum earns prestigious Pulitzer Prize

Waylon Cunningham, a 2012 Whitehouse graduate, was recently named among the winners of the 2024 Pulitzer Prize in National Reporting. Working with a team at Reuters, Cunningham covered Elon Musk’s business empire. He contributed as part of a nine-person team that uncovered systemic harms to customers, workers and lab animals at Musk’s companies.

In their 108th year, the Pulitzer Prizes are considered the most prestigious honors in U.S. journalism.

In the series titled ‘The Musk Industrial Complex’, the winning piece exposed how Tesla had invaded drivers’ privacy by sharing sensitive images recorded by their vehicles. Read the full series here.

“Private camera recordings, captured by cars, were shared in chat rooms with hundreds,” Cunningham writes on his professional career website. “Circulated clips included one of a child being struck by a car. To report this, my two co-reporters and I reached out to more than 300 former Tesla employees for this story, which went viral soon after publication. It also prompted an on-going class action lawsuit and a letter from U.S. senators to Elon Musk.”

The board’s notable takeaways from the Musk series were “eye-opening series of accountability stories focused on Elon Musk’s automobile and aerospace businesses, stories that displayed remarkable breadth and depth and provoked official probes of his companies’ practices in Europe and the United States,” according to the Pulitzer website.

After graduating from Whitehouse, Cunningham earned his bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from Oberlin College in 2016. Cunningham then graduated summa cum laude from the master’s degree program at the Annenberg School of Journalism at the University of Southern California, where he was the 2020 Selden Ring Fellow for Investigative Journalism.

According to his biography, Cunningham also won the Malcolm Law Award for Investigative Reporting from the Tennessee Associated Press while working in East Tennessee. He is also inaugural Sir Harry Evans Fellow for Global Investigative Journalism. The fellowship gave him the opportunity to work on the Pulitzer-winning project.

Society of Industrial and Office Realtors elects local to Board of Directors

The Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR) recently elected Russell Patterson, SIOR, owner and broker at Patterson Commercial Property Group in Tyler, to serve a two-year term on the SIOR Board of Directors as a member-at-large. He will assume the position at SIOR’s Fall 2024 conference in Los Angeles this October.

Patterson is an office specialist who has been a member of SIOR since 2016. Currently, he serves as the chair of the SIOR Education Committee. Patterson was born and raised in Tyler, and after graduating from Texas Christian University, he spent eight years as an educator before obtaining his real estate license in 2006 and his broker’s license in 2009. He is a market leader in office leasing and sales and has a significant amount of experience with industrial transactions.

Additionally, he specializes in investments, tenant representation, and brokerage management, among other areas.

“SIOR has made an indelible impact on my career, and I’m excited to work with the incredible team at SIOR.” says Patterson. “Together, we embody the spirit of expertise and integrity that defines this organization, driving the industry forward and empowering our members to excel.”

Patterson is an active member of Dayspring Methodist Church in Tyler and is the proud father of three daughters. More information on Patterson Commercial Property Group can be found at www.pattersoncpg.com.

The Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR) is the leading society for industrial and office real estate professionals. Individuals who earn their SIOR designation adhere to the highest levels of accountability and ethical standards. Only the industry’s top professionals qualify for the SIOR designation. Today, there are more than 3,900 SIOR members in over 50 countries.

Visit www.sior.com for more information.

Tyler resident, UT Tyler alum recognized by national art publication

Jessica Sanders, of Tyler and an alumna of The University of Texas at Tyler, was one of 21 artists selected as a 2024 Emerging Artist by Ceramics Monthly Magazine from 840 applicants. She serves as an adjunct instructor in the UT Tyler Department of Art and Art History.

“We are incredibly proud of Jessica and all she has accomplished. She is well deserving of this honor,” said Merrie Wright, UT Tyler professor and department chair.

Sanders is featured in the May 2024 issue of the magazine, which can be viewed on their website, ceramicartsnetwork.org/ceramics-monthly.

The group of artists “demonstrates exceptional skill, creativity and dedication to their chosen areas of interest,” according to the editors’ note on the website. “They stretch the limits of ceramic practices and materials to create poignant sculptural objects and functional vessels.”

Sanders’ work is created of ceramic pieces that are wired together to create flexible sculptures. Her recent shows include a solo exhibition at Kilgore College, “Out of the Fire’’ at Love Texas Art in Fort Worth and “Patterned Rituals” at Janette Kennedy Gallery in Dallas.

Sanders joined the UT Tyler art adjunct faculty in 2020. A current member at InBetween Studios in Tyler, she also is part of a four-woman ceramic art collective called The ASGs. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Master of Fine Arts and Master of Arts from UT Tyler.