Black Press employees in Williams Lake once again received provincial accolades for their work in the newspaper industry.
Former Williams Lake Tribune publisher and Black Press North President Lorie Williston will be honoured at this year’s Ma Murray Awards hosted by the BC & Yukon Community News Media Association (BCYCNA)
Now retired, Williston is the recipient of the prestigious Ledcor Eric Dunning Award for Dedication and Service to the Community Newspaper Industry. At the time of her retirement Williston oversaw more than a dozen community newspapers through the Interior and the North stretching from Ashcroft in the south to Queen Charlotte City in the northwest. She held that position for a number of years, including during the 2017 unprecedented wildfires which stopped the presses at the Williams Lake Tribune for the first time in decades.
Williston’s newspaper career began in the early 1980s where she took a part-time position as a data entry clerk. She worked her way up the ladder within Black Press, retiring after more than 35 years in the business. She counted former Tribune publisher Bob Grainger as her most influential mentor.
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“Bob Grainger was my mentor and the one that pushed me to take on more and grow my career over the years. And I do not think I know a more approachable, genuine person than David Black,” Williston said at the time of her retirement last summer.
This year a Tribune photograph capturing the kindness of construction workers in Williams Lake is up for a Ma Murray newspaper award as well.
“A kind, helping hand” taken by Williams Lake Tribune editor Angie Mindus will be up for top honours this spring at a BCYCNA gala in the category of Spot News Award.
The image shows Vantage Living construction workers caring for an injured Williams Lake senior who had lost his footing and fell on the sidewalk Nov. 1. At the time it was cold and raining, and one construction worker in particular held the victim’s hand in one hand and an umbrella over him in the other while other construction workers assisted and waited for EHS to arrive.
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Black Press Media community newspapers, of which the Tribune is one, are up for a total of 20 newspaper awards this year.
The awards honour and celebrate the work of community journalists across the province for advertising, photography, writing, multimedia and overall newspaper excellence.
Mindus, along with Tribune staff reporters Monica Lamb-Yorski and Greg Sabatino have all been recognized in years’ past by the BCYCNA and CCNA for their photography, writing and multimedia work in the community newspaper industry.
Winners will be announced on Apr. 27 at the River Rock Casino Resort in Richmond.
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