Project:Report Semi-Finalists and their Work
Ann Peters, Pulitzer Center
They tell the stories of undocumented workers and a soup kitchen manager, a former addict-turned-counselor and a homeless vet, a Native American grandmother and a North Carolina dairy farmer. Profiles of individuals of significance in their communities.
They are the 10 semi-finalists from some 100 entries in Round 1 of the joint Pulitzer Center/YouTube Project:Report. And they are embarking on Round 2 with an assignment to tell a local story with a global impact.
They shared with us a bit about themselves and their thinking on where journalism is going today. We thought we’d pass along the information so you’d get to know them and their work better. They range in age from 24 to 42. There are five graduate students, a stay-at-home mom, a production assistant, a novelist/freelancer and two graduates working a variety of jobs or involved in job searches.
Today Torrey Meeks lives in Las Cruces, NM, working from home as a novelist, video editor and freelance 
writer. His path to Las Cruces came by way of stints as a combat medic in the US Army, long-haul truck driver, stone mason, and a variety of jobs in restaurants. He spent time traveling across the US on his motorcycle. His honorable discharge from the Army came on the same day as the Iraq war began.
Torrey profiles Yolanda Dimas, manager of the El Caldito soup kitchen in Las Cruces. The video reaffirmed many of the things he’s learned over the years especially when his mother tried to raise three boys alone. In the video, Yolanda shares her post-divorce transition from a life of plenty to a life of little and her hectic – yet fulfilling – day job. As soup kitchen manager, she oversees production of some 5,000 meals a month, between 230-270 a day. Torrey’s imagery and Yolanda’s words mesh together to show the fast-paced nature of running a feeding station for the community.
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