The Elgin Review newspaper was recipient of four awards as part of the Better Newspaper Contest at the annual convention of the Nebraska Press Association (NPA).
The contest was judged earlier this year by members of the Arizona Press Assocation. The awards were presented Saturday night during the final session of the convention.
The Elgin Review, competing in Class B (based on circulation), won one first place award, one second and two third place awards.
The newspaper took top honors for “Single Retail Advertising Idea (B&W). The ad was titled “Bright Ideas for Your Farm” for the Bank of Elgin. The judges said, “Headline and graphic are great. Nice and clean layout, very pleasing to the eyes.”
The second place award came in the category of “Feature Photography.” The winning photo, taken by Lynell Morgan, was of the Moving Wall during Elgin’s Q125 celebration last June. “Expertly framed and invocative. Tells the whole story,” were the judges’ comments.
Third place awards were received in the categories of “Specialty Page” and “Building Circulation.” The specialty page was from a “Salute to Beef” special section which ran in May. “Building Circulation” focused on an ad created by the newspaper emphasizing how Elgin news comes in three shapes and sizes (print, website and Facebook).
“We are extremely happy to be recognized for our efforts,” Publisher Dennis Morgan said. We continue to be committed to providing the best newspaper for our subscribers.
The Elgin Review was the only newspaper in Antelope County to earn awards in the Better Newspaper Contest.
Winning multiple awards for their newspapers in Petersburg and Albion were former Elgin Review publishers Jim and Julie Dickerson.
New NPA President.
During the three-day convention, Morgan was elected president of the Nebraska Press Association for a one year term. “Being elected president is a great honor,” Morgan said.
He was elected Friday at the state press convention in Lincoln.
Other officers on the board are Jason Frederick, co-publisher of the Trenton Hitchcock County News, vice president; Peggy Year, co-publisher of the Hartington Cedar County News, treasurer. New to the board is Kevin Peterson, publisher of the Wayne Herald. Rod Worrell, publisher of the Ainsworth Star-Journal, will serve as immediate past president. Continuing their terms as board of directors of NPA are Kevin Zadina, publisher of the Seward County Independent; Tom Shaal, publisher of the Alliance Times-Herald; Lori Pankonin, co-publisher of the Imperial Republican; Terrie Baker, publisher of the North Platte Telegraph; and Deb McCaslin, executive editor of the Broken Bow Custer County Chief.
Allen J. Beermann is executive director of both the NPA and the Nebraska Press Advertising Service.
Membership in the NPA includes 171 weekly and daily newspapers with a total paid circulation in excess of 500,000 persons.
It was founded in 1873. NPAS includes all of the NPA membership and was founded in 1951.
Master Editor/Publisher
The highest honor that can be bestowed upon members by the NPA has been awarded to Elna Johnson, former co-publisher of the Imperial Republican, Grant Tribune-Sentinel, Wauneta Breeze and Holyoke (CO) Enterprise.
“Elna is very deserving of our industry’s highest honor. She and her late husband Loral Johnson, dedicated their lives as journalists to promote Southwest Nebraska with their newspaper. We (Lynell and I) were fortunate to have worked for the Johnsons for 13 years at the Grant paper.”
She is the 44th person and first woman so honored by the NPA.
