128th Annual Convention

The 128^th Annual Convention of the Montana Newspaper Association was held June 13 – 15 in Missoula, Montana.

At the annual meeting, Tom Eggensperger, Sanders County Ledger, was elected President; Cindy Sease, Bozeman Daily Chronicle, was elected 1^st Vice President; Matt Bunk, The Western News, was elected 2^nd Vice President and Jacques Rutten, Lewistown New-Argus, was elected 3^rd Vice President.

New Directors elected to the Montana Newspaper Advertising Service were Bina Eggensperger, Sanders County Ledger and Jeff Martinsen, Choteau Acantha.

Libby Berndt, retired Sidney Herald Publisher and Dan Killoy, Miles City Star Publisher were honored with the Master Editor-Publisher Award for their significant contributions to the Montana newspaper industry and Montana Newspaper Association.

The Better Newspaper Contest Awards, judged by the North Dakota Newspaper Association, were presented at the June 15 banquet emceed by Missoula Mayor John Engen.  The very top honors went to: Billings Gazette, The Sam Gilluly Sweepstakes Award; Flathead Beacon, The Thomas Dimsdale Sweepstakes Award and Billings Gazette, The Mel Ruder Photojournalism Award. The full presentation of all awards can be found at mtnewspapers.com.

The mission of the Montana Newspaper Association is to advance and sustain the news publishing industry in Montana.The association has 87 member newspapers and was established in 1885.