For more than 25 years, photojournalist Scott Elmquist has used his vision, heart and storytelling to bring readers of Style Weekly in Richmond inside the lives of their neighbors while spotlighting important issues for the community.
On April 17, the Society of Professional Journalists Virginia Pro Chapter honored Elmquist as the recipient of the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award for 2024. About 70 people attended the event, which was held at The Valentine Museum.
The ceremony included a conversation between Elmquist and SPJVA President Chris Tyree.
More photos from the ceremony can be found on Facebook.
The SPJ Virginia Pro chapter would like to thank the event’s sponsors, including Virginia Public Media and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.
Special thanks also to:
- The Virginia Commonwealth University journalism students who volunteered to help at the event.
- Journalism professor Alix Bryan-Campos, a member of the SPJVA Board of Directors and faculty sponsor of VCU’s SPJ student chapter.
At an early age, Elmquist thought he’d be a writer, but a freak work-related accident led him to pick up a camera as he recovered. He hasn’t put it down since.
After college, Elmquist worked for the alumni magazine at Penn State before joining Style Weekly in 1999.
“When I got to Richmond, I started noticing a lot of gaps—like gun violence,” Elmquist said. “The tragedy of that was being underreported by almost all the print media. So, I decided in the early 2000s to cover as much as I could.”
Over the past two decades, Elmquist has documented everything in Richmond, from school dances to the Black Lives Matter protests which led to the removal of Confederate monuments around the city.
The journalism landscape has changed during Elmquist’s time at Style Weekly. When he started, he was part of an energized staff combing the city for stories. Eventually, he became one of the last people standing in the newsroom. The alternative paper went out of business after being acquired in 2021 by the hedge fund Alden Global Capital. Shortly afterward, the publication was revived by Virginia Public Media.
Elmquist continues to use his camera to capture life in the capital city for Style Weekly. He will be honored at an event in 2024, with more details to be announced soon.
SPJVA Today 
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