The Saskatchewan Weekly Newspapers Association held their annual awards ceremony May 9, and once again, the Unity Wilkie Press-Herald was recognized for some outstanding work.
Helena Long’s profile of former army chaplain, Rev. George Ward, published in the 2023 Remembrance Day issue, received second place in the province in the “Salute to Veterans” category.
Long also won second place for “The circle of life” – for food!” in “Best Agricultural Coverage.” The story, which ran in the Press-Herald’s Ag Safety Week edition last spring, looked at the Loop program’s recycling of expired food products in a partnership between local farmers and Delta Co-op.
Despite being up against some experienced writers, Azure McGonigle finished fourth in “Editorial Writing Excellence.” This category requires the submission of three different editorials; since McGonigle was only hired last fall, there were limited editorials to choose from to showcase her work. Nevertheless, this new reporter/writer was only one point (74 out of 100) behind the third place journalist (75 out of 100).
Long had a fourth place finish for “Best Black and White Photo.” The photograph of two Wilkie youngsters playing ball was described by judges as “charming subject matter, two up-and-coming baseball stars presented with clarity. Short depth of field blurs distracting background well. You caught expressions, it had impact. You used just the right moment to lend heart to the story.”
Although the award went to the Battlefords Regional News-Optimist, Press-Herald readers also got to enjoy Miguel Fenrich’s story last year on Unity local Dianne Skog-Humble, “Last dance: Sugartop will play music to the end.” Fenrich received second place for “Best Saskatchewan Arts or Cultural Story.”
Fenrich picked up the first place “Best Tourism Story” plaque for “Reconciliation shutters one of Sask’s oldest historic sites – The Fort” and won another second place for a series on women writers, including his News-Optimist story on Jayne Foster, “SASKTODAY.ca’s editor embraces change.” His article on “Todd Rennebohm’s road to recovery, from anxiety to advocacy” was second in Best Health/Healthcare Coverage.”
“Have we learned anything from a racist past?” – that submission by Fenrich’s fellow News-Optimist reporter garnered Lisa Joy (whose work has also appeared in the Press-Herald), a first place for “Best First Nations Coverage,” and a second place for “Best Feature Story.”
Individual story and photo award submissions compete against all weekly newspapers in the province, regardless of size. Newspapers are also recognized, however, for “Best Front Page” and “Best Editorial Page.” In these categories, they are grouped into sections of papers of similar size, based on numbers of copies distributed.
In the “Best Editorial Page” class, the Unity-Wilkie Press-Herald finished in fourth place.
