The Abbotsford News received a number of honours at the annual B.C. & Yukon Community NewsMedia Association’s 2023 Ma Murray Awards on Thursday, May 4.
Reporter Jessica Peters won first place for her Feature Article for “Life carries on at Abbotsford dairy farm where 200 cows died.” For this story, Peters checked in with Abbotsford dairy farmer Phillip Graham one year after the flooding in the Sumas Prairie. During her visit, one of the cows rescued the year before gave birth to a male calf.
Graham had lost about 200 of his 500 cows, and is still rebuilding the farm in many ways.
READ MORE: Video: Life carries on at Abbotsford dairy farm where 200 cows died
Peters also won a second-place award for the Columnist category for two columns written over the last year. One was called “Message from Ryan Reynolds helps Abbotsford News reporter celebrate end of cancer journey.” The other discussed the childlike joy of believing in Santa Claus.
READ MORE: Message from Ryan Reynolds helps Abbotsford News reporter celebrate end of cancer journey
Reporter Ben Lypka was also honoured with a second-place award in the Multimedia Feature Story category. His story, Vancouver Canucks draft and development and what it means for Abbotsford, analyzed draft picks and development at the NHL and AHL level.
The Abbotsford News as a team also earned second place for the Special Section award. The team was recognized for the Stronger Together, a full-colour, 24-page section marking one year since the devastating flooding experienced across the Sumas Prairie. It included stories of resilience and rebuilding the region, including the story about Graham’s farm.
A number of other awards were handed out to Black Press through the eastern Fraser Valley.
Chilliwack Progress reporter Jenna Hauck won first place in the Spot News Photo Award category for her photos of a chicken barn fire on Carey Road on April 13, 2022.
READ MORE: ‘Fortunately, there were no animals’ in Chilliwack chicken barn when it caught fire
Kevin Mills, editor of the Mission Record, earned second place in the Feature Video category for a video about a mural project in Mission.
Former Mission Record reporter Patrick Penner placed second for the John Collison Investigative Journalism Award for a story about harassment complaints in the corrections world.
READ MORE: Harassment complaints plague corrections
He also earned a third place Portrait/Personality Photo Award for a photograph of Mission’s last cobbler.
The Chilliwack Progress received third place honours in its Newspaper Excellence category based on circulation.
Also the subject of a special honour was former Abbotsford News editor, and now retired from his most recent job as editorial director for Black Press, Andy Holota. Holota was given the Eric Dunning Award for Dedication and Service to the Community Newspaper Industry.
“Andy Holota volunteered in many roles throughout the B.C. news media industry. He spent many years on the Press Council as well as the BCYCNA board of directors.
“He has been a tireless advocate and mentor for many journalists over his career. Andy has always been a person that many in the industry could count on to help guide us through any obstacle as his knowledge and confidence of that knowledge was unwavering.”
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