Accepting awards and accolades

The Saratoga Sun recently went to the 121st Wyoming Press Association and won 10 Pacemaker Awards. On a weekend in which we are able to meet and visit with our peers, getting recognized for the hard work we put in over the year is also a very wonderful feeling. It’s even more wonderful when you consider how many newspapers are in the small weekly category with the Sun.

That category seems to grow annually.

You can see the awards won by the staff of the Sun on page 5 of this week’s paper, but I would be remiss if I didn’t list them here. For starters, our new graphic designer, Dana Davis, was able to bring home three awards this year. What is especially impressive about this is, we had only two months worth of work to pick from. The content eligible to be judged for 2019 goes from November 1 to October 31 and Dana joined our team near the end of August.

Dana took home 1st place in Open Page Design for “A Preview of Pageantry” as well as an honorable mention in Open Page Design for “Tigers Tear Into Mustangs.” She was also awarded 1st place in Small Ad for her Kindergarten Readiness ad designed for the Board of Cooperative Education Services.

As a staff, the Sun took home 1st place for Headline Writing with the judges making special mention of two particular headlines; “Planning for zoning” and “Water, fowl at council.” For the past several years, we have placed somewhere in the top three for headline writing and so it is wonderful to continue that tradition.

The staff also took home an honorable mention for 2018’s “Salute to Veterans” special section. While we put a lot of work and love into all of our special sections, this one is rather important as it allows us a chance to preserve the stories of those who have served our country or highlight those who volunteer to help our veterans.

For the second year in a row, I was able to take home 1st place in Brand Promotion Using Social Media. This year, I also took home a blue ribbon for Business/Energy Reporting for highlighting the coming and going of businesses on Bridge Avenue. I was awarded 2nd place in Story Promotion Using Social Media and Specialty Reporting for a number of stories I wrote about veterans in the Valley.

This includes a story I absolutely loved researching and writing about Richard Wiant, a World War II veteran who was involved in D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge.

Finally, I received an honorable mention for Arts/Entertainment/Cultural Reporting for articles ranging from Firewater’s inaugural Firewater Fifth to the Bird and the Bear’s first solo album.

It goes without saying that these awards are something to be proud of. Beyond these 10 awards, the staff of the Saratoga Sun submitted a large number of articles, photos and graphic design work. Work that we are proud of.

From the final sermon at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Medicine Bow to a young man who has worked as a cowboy on nearly every continent on earth to photos of people and wildlife around our communities.

As great as these awards are, there is something to be said about the feeling we get being told how much someone enjoyed something the Sun did. Whether it is an article, coverage of an event or graphic design work, being stopped in the streets and given these accolades by our community is just as good as an award.

After all, at the end of the day, I don’t think we do what we do for the awards. While the recognition is nice, we do what we do because we care about our community and want to do the best we can for our community. From the southern end of the Platte Valley to eastern edge of Carbon County, we care about these places.

These awards, all 10 of them, wouldn’t have been possible without the people within our community who put their faith in us to tell their stories and cover their events.

From the bottom of my heart; thank you!