NORTHAMPTON, Mass. — Veteran Addison Independent reporter John Flowers on Friday, Sept. 26, was presented with an A-Mark Prize for outstanding investigative journalism. He was one of only three Vermont journalists to be so honored at a New England Newspaper & Press Association (NENPA) awards ceremony in Northampton, Mass.

Flowers was specifically lauded for a two-part series of articles he wrote this past February chronicling growing dissatisfaction among stakeholders in Addison County’s criminal justice system with Addison County State’s Attorney Eva Vekos.

Through more than a dozen interviews and by combing through myriad court records, Flowers found, among other things, a high turnover rate among deputies in Vekos’s office; a relationship with a county victims’ advocate that had become so frayed that Vekos at one point barred her from entering the SA’s office and from using the needed software to access case files; and immense dissatisfaction from assault victims, some of whom said they felt betrayed by plea deals executed by Vekos as she cleared a substantial case backlog.

Click here to read Part One, “Prosecutor draws scrutiny for mistakes, poor treatment,” and Part Two, “Crime victims share their stories; top prosecutor draws criticism.”

This was the inaugural year for the A-Mark Prizes, “designed to recognize and honor outstanding investigative journalism that reveals hidden truths, holds power to account, and drives public awareness or reform.”

The contest was open to journalists based in New England whose primary medium is the written word, including reporters, columnists and investigative journalists working in newspapers and online news sites.

Judges for the A-Mark Prizes sought to reward “ambitious, well-researched reporting that may expose wrongdoing, hold powerful individuals accountable, or explore complex problems, issues or subjects.”

The prizes, which include a monetary award, are funded by The A-Mark Foundation, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting and encouraging journalism and investigative reporting through grants to organizations like NENPA that recognize enterprise reporting.

In addition to the professional recognition, A-Mark Prize winners will see their work prominently featured on NENPA’s website.

Other Vermont recipients of this year’s 2025 A-Mark Prizes included Carly Berlin of VTDigger and Derek Brouwer of Seven Days.

Independent Editor/Publisher Angelo Lynn said the prize was well-deserved.

“John Flowers has long demonstrated a high level of professionalism that our readers appreciate and now we see that journalists more broadly in New England are recognizing that. Nice job, John!”

John Flowers has worked as a community journalist for 40 years. A graduate of the Northeastern University School of Journalism, he began his career with The Tab newspaper group in 1985, covering Wellesley and then Newton, Mass. He’s worked for the Addison Independent in Middlebury since 1990, covering a variety of beats that include Middlebury municipal government and schools, human services, legislative issues, the local judiciary, features and health care. He is past president of the Vermont Press Association and has served on the VPA executive board for more than 15 years. He has testified repeatedly before the Vermont Legislature on behalf of the VPA in defense of the Open Meeting Law and government transparency.