The 130th Annual Convention of the Montana Newspaper Association was held June 11-13 in Big Sky, Montana.
At the Montana Newspaper Association (MNA) annual meeting, Matt Bunk, The Western News, was elected President; Jacques Rutten, Lewistown News-Argus was elected 1st Vice President; Darla Downs, The Herald-News was elected 2nd Vice President and Kyle Rickhoff, Billings Gazette, was elected 3rd Vice President. Joining the MNA board of directors is Stacey Mantle, Havre Daily News.
Joining the Montana Newspaper Advertising Service board of directors is Tyler Miller, Independent Record and Montana Standard.
Stephanie Pressly, Publisher and President, Bozeman Daily Chronicle and Greg Corr, former Publisher of the Whitehall Ledger were honored with the Master Editor-Publisher Award for their significant contributions to the Montana newspaper industry and Montana Newspaper Association.
Lyle K. Williams, 1900 – 1990, was inducted into the Montana Newspaper Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame was established by the Montana Newspaper Association and the University of Montana School of Journalism, and honors Montana journalists who have made outstanding contributions to the profession, the arts, and their community.
The 2015 Better Newspaper Contest Awards, judged by the Kentucky Press Association, were presented at the June 13 banquet emceed Chrysti Smith (Chrysti the Wordsmith).
The top awards were presented to:
Bozeman Daily Chronicle The Sam Gilluly Award – Best Daily Newspaper in Montana
Whitefish Pilot The Thomas Dimsdale Award – Best Weekly Newspaper in Montana
Chris Peterson, Hungry Horse News Mel Ruder Photograph of the Year Award
The Big Timber Pioneer – Division 1 Newspaper General Excellence
Lone Peak Lookout – Division 2 Newspaper General Excellence
Whitefish Pilot – Division 3 Newspaper General Excellence
Flathead Beacon – Division 4 Newspaper General Excellence
Bozeman Daily Chronicle – Division 5 Newspaper General Excellence
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 89 professional member newspapers and was established in 1885.
