The feature story of the fall 2014 issue of Tennessee Law, the magazine of the University of Tennessee College of Law, was recently awarded the gold award in feature writing by the Tennessee College Public Relations Association (TCPRA) at the organization’s annual summer conference.
The story, titled “Inevitable,” profiled UT College of Veterinary Medicine faculty Val Tanco and Sophy Jesty and their challenge to Tennessee’s ban on same-sex marriage. The story also features their attorney and friend, Regina Lambert (’01), a UT Law alumna and frequent adjunct instructor who approached the couple to participate in the suit against the state.
Throughout the piece, Tanco and Jesty discuss their ongoing journey through the legal system and how it has intertwined with their personal lives. Lambert also discusses the legal arguments on both sides of the issue and where she believes the ruling from the US Supreme Court will ultimately fall.
“Inevitable” was written by Roger Hagy Jr., UT Law’s director of communications and the editor of Tennessee Law, with photography provided by Patrick Murphy-Racey. In addition to the College of Law’s win, several other UT campuses and offices also won TCPRA awards.
Formed in 1975, TCPRA is an alliance of communicators who represent the colleges and universities, public and private, two-year technical schools, technology centers, and community colleges that together define higher education in Tennessee.