1. ASBPE names Tom Zind winner of its 2010 Stephen Barr
Award
Electrical Contruction and Maintenance writer recognized for work on
noncombat military deaths, injuries in Iraq.
Tom Zind accepts his Barr Award
ASBPE has honored Tom Zind as its 2010 Stephen Barr Award winner for his
enterprising article "A Killer in the Ranks." The 2009 story, featured in Electrical
Construction and Maintenance (EC&M) magazine, explored how unsafe electrical
systems caused noncombat military deaths, injuries, and property damage among
American troops serving in Iraq.
Presenting the award to Zind at the ASBPE Western regional awards banquet at
the Plaza III restaurant in Kansas City, former ASBPE national vice president Amy
Fischbach noted that Zind’s article went beyond the finger-pointing being done by
the Pentagon, Congress and contractors over the electrocutions, and emphasized
the corrective course for the deadly and much-overlooked problem.
Zind, who lives in Lee’s Summit, Mo., is a 1979 graduate of the University of
Kansas School of Journalism, and has worked as a freelancer for the last 13 years.
His editor at EC&M, Mike Eby, called Zind a skilled writer known for well-
researched, engaging and easy-to-read journalism. “The entire EC&M team is
thrilled to see him honored for his work on this tragic story that hit close to home
with many of our readers," Eby said.
Read Tom Zind’s award-winning story, “A Killer in the Ranks”
Said the Stephen Barr Award judges: “Tom Zind’s report is chilling, not only
because of the disturbing subject matter — the deaths of soldiers from clearly
preventable electrical wiring flaws — but because of the way he combines terrific
interviews, a clear description of the problem, and plausible solutions.” The judges
called his story “an outstanding piece of public service reporting (that) synthesizes
congressional testimony and original reporting to both document and explain a
serious, indeed fatal, problem for the American military in Iraq. The article is written
with authority, displaying expert knowledge of the subject, yet it is accessible, vivid
and easily understood.”
The Stephen Barr Award, now in its seventh year, is a "best in class" prize going to
the journalist for a business-to-business publication whose work most reflects the
qualities of inventiveness of approach, insight, balance in the presentation of a
complex subject, depth of investigation, and impact among the community of
readers. Those qualities were typical of the work of Stephen Barr, a senior
contributing editor of CFO magazine and perennial ASBPE award-winner who died
in 2002, at age 43. The award, which comes with a $500 check, is endowed by his

2. family and administered by the ASBPE Foundation.
Related links:
• Read Tom Zind’s award-winning story, “A Killer in the Ranks”
• See who the past Barr winners were and read about their work
• ASBPE Award banquets honor regional and national Azbee Award winners
• ASBPE names Magazine of the Year winners
Back to ASBPE News page
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