Richard McGuire took a second place for Best Feature Photo in the CCNA Awards for this photo of Curtis Pangrass demonstrating flyboarding at Walnut Beach Resort last summer. McGuire said the photo was technically difficult because the organizers waited until it was very dark and Pangrass was moving very quickly. He also wanted the distant lights of Osoyoos to show. (Richard McGuire photo)
We’ve done it again.
For the fourth consecutive year, the Osoyoos Times has received recognition from peers as one of the finest community newspapers in British Columbia – and all of Canada.
The winners of the 2017 Canadian Community Newspaper Association (CCNA) Awards were announced last week and the Osoyoos Times garnered five major awards in their circulation class against dozens of competitors.
The Osoyoos Times received Honourable Mention (Blue Ribbon Award) for General Excellence; Second place for Best Editorial Page; Second place for Best Feature Series; Second place for Best Feature Photo; and Third place for Best Front Page.
At the 2016 B.C,/Yukon Newspaper Association Ma Murray provincial newspaper awards competition, Osoyoos Times took home the first place trophy for Best Feature Article (under 25,000 circulation) for a series of articles that appeared relating to the myriad of wildfires that had broken out across Osoyoos, Oliver and the surrounding region.
Editor Keith Lacey and reporter/photographer Richard McGuire shared this award for their comprehensive coverage of the wildfires that caused so much damage and heartache in August of 2015.
A photograph McGuire took of homeowners near Oliver evacuating their large executive home as wildfires raged in every direction earned McGuire a bronze medal for Best Spot News Photo at last year’s CCNA awards competition.
At the 2015 CCNA Awards, the Osoyoos Times was named as the General Excellence gold medal winner as the best overall newspaper in its circulation class in Canada at the CCNA Awards competition.
It also captured first place for Best Front Page and Best Editorial Page at the 2015 national competition.
In 2014, the Osoyoos Times captured the top prize in General Excellence in its circulation class at the Ma Murray Awards competition.
Keith Lacey, who has been editor of the Osoyoos Times since late 2011, said being recognized with five more major awards at a national competition against the best community newspapers in Canada, is something to be very proud of.
“We have a fantastic team of experienced professionals here at the Osoyoos Times who are all committed and dedicated to their job and work hard to produce a quality newspaper each and every week,” he said. “Being recognized with national and provincial awards for four consecutive years shows that we have some very talented people who work at this paper.
“Our mission is to provide our readers and advertisers with a fantastic community newspaper each and every week, but being recognized by our peers for doing quality work is always a very great honor and nice bonus.”
The fact the Osoyoos Times has garnered national or provincial recognition by industry peers for four consecutive years indicates the level of talent and professionalism of the staff members, said Lacey.
The winning team at the Osoyoos Times includes reporter/photographer Richard McGuire; production manager/assistant publisher Ronda Jahn; office administrator Joceyln Merit; and sales representative Ken Baker.
Jahn said winning major awards never gets tired and shows that the veteran staff at the Osoyoos Times are all talented and dedicated professionals who work hard to produce a great newspaper each and every week.
“It’s always so rewarding and humbling being recognized by your peers,” said Jahn. “Even more rewarding is going to work everyday with a great team. It’s not very often you have a team that works so well together for as many years as we have so when we are recognized for that it makes it even sweeter.”
McGuire captured two of the national awards – one for a superb photo of a flyboarder flying high over the Osoyoos skylines and the second for a series of articles he wrote in the days after trustees with School District 53 announced they were considering closing Osoyoos Secondary School.
“I’m in my fifth year with the Osoyoos Times and the recognition of our quality journalism and photography over the years is part of what has kept me motivated,” said McGuire. “I’m grateful to the whole team for their hard work and for giving me a chance to do what I enjoy.
“The flyboarding photo was especially challenging technically because the organizers held back the show until it was very dark. At the same time, there’s a lot of fast movement and I wanted the lights across the water to show. I was pleased with the result.
“The feature articles were on the existential threat faced by Osoyoos when the school board tried to close our only high school. This was a case of telling our town’s story and any award for this one belongs to the Osoyoos community as a whole.”
Aberdeen Publishing and its president Bob Doull own both the Osoyoos Times and Oliver Chronicle.
Doull said he’s proud of the excellent work done by the entire team at the Osoyoos Times, adding being recognized by industry peers at the national level is a tremendous honour.
“It’s amazing that a small newspaper with limited resources would win so many awards,” he said. “It really shows the desire of the staff to make a great newspaper for their community. We are fortunate to have such dedicated and talented people willing to make the extra effort required to produce such an extraordinary result.”
Other publications owned by Aberdeen Publishing also had excellent results in the 2017 CCNA Awards competition as the Fitzhugh in Jasper won second place for Best Sports Coverage and third for Best Local Editorial, while the Oliver Chronicle won third place for Best Feature Story and Kamloops This Week won first place for Best Business Writing.
Oliver Chronicle Editor Lyonel Doherty’s article about the man who was shot in the back and seriously injured by a career criminal captured the third place prize in the Best Feature Article competition.
Doherty will be travelling to Vancouver this weekend for the 2017 Ma Murray Awards banquet as the Oliver Chronicle has been named one of three finalists for General Excellence in its circulation class.
SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
Osoyoos Times
