The Chief won the Newspaper Excellence Award for its circulation category at the BC & Yukon Community Newspaper Association (Ma Murray) Awards held on Saturday evening. The Chief also received the Special Publication Award (under 25,000) for Discover Squamish magazine by publisher Darren Roberts and editor Michaela Garstin, as well as bronze for Ad Design by production manager Julie Gamache for “8th Annual Open House” and silver for the Feature Article “Van life: Squamish residents ditch traditional housing” by local reporter Megan Lalonde.
“There is a lot to like in the pages of The Chief. Thought provoking editorial combined with superb local features and sports reporting, an aesthetically pleasing design, fantastic photography and superb production quality, all come together to make the Squamish Chief a unanimous choice for first place,” wrote the judges.
“Stories offer a excellent balance of pressing issues with lighter fare to keep the community abreast on goings on. The editorial and letters section are written well and bring a broader interest to local experience.”
The Chief scored the highest for its photography, much of which is done by David Buzzard, out of any newspaper in its circulation class.
The judges called Discover Squamish, “Interesting, thoroughly engaging, well-written and beautifully presented. Attention to detail is very impressive and design, layout, balance, production quality and composition are top class.”
In addition, The Chief also won a blue ribbon in the Canadian Community Newspaper Awards, as well as bronze for Outstanding Reporter Initiative for “Government muses meddling in council” by Jennifer Thuncher.
In the article, FOI documents show importance of Woodfibre LNG success to the provincial government.
“Winning general excellence at the BCYCNAs is a testament to our hardworking team here at The Chief,” said publisher Darren Roberts.
Thank you to every single person who helps to make The Squamish Chief a success. Way to go team!
