Roll Call was a six-time winner at Tuesday night’s dinner of the Society of Professional Journalists’ Washington Dateline Awards for Excellence in Local Journalism.

The staff, competing in the “Weekly Newspaper” bracket, took home two first-place, one second-place and three third-place awards for items published in 2003.

Photo Editor Douglas Graham won first place in the Photojournalism category for his July 14 photograph “Congressional Baseball,” which captured a home-plate collision at last summer’s 42nd Annual Roll Call Congressional Baseball Game.

Staff Writer Brody Mullins won first place in Investigative Reporting for his Oct. 21 article, “Tauzin’s Club Fuels Exit Talk,” which examined whether the use of a hunting ranch by Energy and Commerce Chairman Billy Tauzin (R-La.) proved that he had become too close to lobbyists.

Another winner in the Investigative Reporting category was Investigations Editor Damon Chappie, who won second place for his Jan. 20 article “DeLay Foundation Exploits New Rules.” The story detailed how House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) engineered a rules change and then used the change to his advantage.

Staff Writer Suzanne Nelson took third place in General News for her Nov. 20 article “Manning: Arguing Away Her Job.” Nelson detailed how Senate Chief Counsel for Employment Jean Manning’s work on behalf of the chamber could undermine the Congressional Accountability Act.

Another third-place winner was Editorial Assistant Bree Hocking’s entry in the Features category, “Recipe for a Better Life” (June 23). The June 23 story examined the lives of two students at D.C. Central Kitchen who were residents of Clean and Sober Streets, a drug treatment center above the kitchen.

Finally, Karen Feld, a columnist and broadcaster for Capital Connections and Washington editor of the Delta Shuttle Sheet, won third place in the Editorial, Columns and Commentary category for her Nov. 18 Guest Observer piece titled “The ‘Other World’ Inspired Leo Ryan’s Life … And Ended It.” In that article, Feld, a former Roll Call columnist, reflected on the 25th anniversary of the fateful trip made by Rep. Leo Ryan (D-Calif.) to Guyana, where he was killed while investigating cult members at Jonestown.