HALDIMAND—The Haldimand Press has received seven nominations from this year’s Better Newspaper Competition, a set of annual awards presented by the Ontario Community Newspaper Association.
The annual competition shines a spotlight on notable journalistic efforts across several categories, with an initial top-three list provided ahead of an award ceremony that reveals the placings in spring.
This year, The Press is nominated in the following categories: Reporter of the Year – Stephen Shaw Award, Best Investigative News story, Best Rural story, Best Health and Wellness story, Best Special Section, Best Community Website, and Best In-House Promotion.
The Reporter of the Year nomination was given to Press senior reporter and assistant editor Mike Renzella in recognition of three stories that show his versatility as a reporter.
Those stories include ‘Retired Afghanistan vet MCpl Berk ‘Sago’ Sagocak on service, PTSD, and overcoming mental health stigmas in the military’, in which Renzella spoke to Sagocak about his time serving in Afghanistan and the challenges he faced both there and since coming home. Secondly, ‘Unlicensed cemetery on private land highlights need to protect local history’ saw Renzella take a look at issues surrounding the still-unlicensed Williams-Morris-Burke cemetery. Lastly, ‘Allegations of improper care launched against All for the Dogs’ looked at concerns related to the operation of a dog shelter in Cayuga.
This is Renzella’s second ‘Reporter of the Year’ nomination in three years; he placed second in the 2021 competition.
For his nominated investigative news story ‘Killman Zoo responds to World Animal Protection report on roadside zoos’, Renzella visited Caledonia’s Killman Zoo for a tour of the facility and to speak with the owners and staff regarding allegations made against ‘roadside zoos’ in a World Animal Protection report.
For his nominated rural story ‘Cayuga farmer runs successful farm while entertaining millions’, Renzella spoke with young Cayuga farmer Hayden Fox about his unique approach to farming as he entertains and educates millions through his TikTok account.
For his nominated health and wellness story ‘A look at Haldimand’s innovative community paramedic program’, Renzella joined community paramedic Nicole Selby and community wellness dog (and local superhero) Tanner for an afternoon that included visiting patients and staff at West Haldimand General Hospital, a classroom full of excited students at Hagersville Elementary School, and a private, at-home patient, all showcasing the versatility of Haldimand’s unique program.
The Best Special Section nomination goes to our 2023 Farms: Harvest Edition. Inside, Press reporters Sheila Phibbs, Tara Lindemann, Mike Renzella, and Rachel Vaarkamp provided a wide variety of agricultural stories, including ‘A look at how manure is utilized in our fields’, ‘4-H program developing future leaders in agriculture’, ‘What you need to know about ag drone sprayers’, and ‘HFA puts their money where their youth is with student bursaries’.
Our Best In-House Promotion nomination is thanks to our look at how The Press is put together each week, titled ‘How it’s made – from planning to mailing at The Haldimand Press’.
Lastly, our website nomination is a source of pride, as The Press spent significant time in 2023 working on an updated, streamlined, easier-to-navigate website to better serve our readers. We invite all to check us out at haldimandpress.com to see the end result of those efforts.
In addition to the BNC nominations, Press Co-publishers Jillian Taylor and Kaitlyn Clark are recent nominees in the Dunnville Chamber of Commerce’s Business Excellence Awards. The pair are nominated in the category ‘Outstanding Futurepreneur’. These awards took place this Wednesday after publication; keep an eye on the March 7 edition for more information.
The Haldimand Press is grateful for all award nominations, which are indicative of our ongoing efforts to keep the residents of Haldimand County informed on all the news and events that matter most to them.
We thank all our subscribers and advertisers for continuing to support us in our efforts. None of this would be possible without that support.
