Lester, longtime Awards Team chair, dies at age 71

Will Lester, who led the National Press Club’s journalism awards program for many years, died unexpectedly Wednesday. He was 71.

Lester won the Club’s highest volunteer honor, the Berny Krug Award, in 2013 for his work as chair of the Awards Team.

First appointed to the role in 2011, Lester held the position for 10 years. He introduced new awards categories – such as breaking news and photography – and oversaw a significant increase in the number of contest entries.

“I met Will when he led the Awards Team and was struck by his passion and dedication to recognizing and honoring the work of his peers,” said Club President Emily Wilkins. “He was a friend and mentor to so many people at the Club. His passing is heartbreaking.”

Lester joined the Club in 1998. An award-winning writer, Lester spent nearly 40 years at The Associated Press, where he was both an editor and reporter. He also worked at The State, the Columbia Record and the Lancaster News.

An AP politics reporter who became a desk editor in the Washington bureau, Lester left an indelible impression on his colleagues.

“Will Lester was the type of person that makes AP special,” AP Executive Editor Julie Pace, posted Wednesday on X, formerly known as Twitter. “A talented and committed editor, and equally kind and good human. He cared about his colleagues and his work. He mostly operated out of the spotlight, and generously applauded those whose work found it. We will miss him.”

Lester’s gentle manner and quiet excellence stood out at the Club.

“He is one of the most easy-going and patient men I know,” then-Club President Theresa Werner said at the Club’s Vivian Awards ceremony on Jan. 8, 2013. “He is thorough and conscientious and has an eye for detail. He also continues to make the [Club Journalism] Awards relevant by introducing new categories.”

A graduate of Emory University, Lester was known to express his love of the Atlanta Braves and Atlanta Falcons on social media and during conversations with Club members.

A private family service will be held at a later date.

Lester was instrumental in the AP's decision not to call the 2000 presidential winner on election night, according to his AP obituary. A former editor and political reporter in the AP Miami bureau, Lester's "in-depth knowledge of Florida politics helped steer AP through the murky waters of the 2000 presidential race between George W. Bush and Al Gore," Meg Kinnard wrote in the AP obituary.