Riesau honored by association
Former Sequim Gazette publisher Sue Ellen Riesau is the recipient of the 2012 Miles Turnbull Master Editor/Publisher Award.
The award, created by the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association Board of Trustees in 1993, "honors an active editor or publisher who has worked hard and unselfishly and made a significant contribution to his or her newspaper, community and state, as well as to WNPA."
Selection criteria also include service to a free press or freedom of information and to the cause of community newspapers.
WNPA Executive Director Bill Will presented the award to Riesau, saying, "What truly matters is someone who values their community."
Will noted that in addition to her community service, Riesau also was an active member of the WNPA board. "She pitched in and worked hard with WNPA, just like she does with Lavender Festival and other community events in Sequim," he said. "She’s the kind of person to have working with you."
Riesau was employed by the Gazette for 23 years, including 10 years as publisher.
Sequim Gazette staff awards
Sequim Gazette reporter Matthew Nash is Washington’s "Feature Writer of the Year" for 2012.
The award was announced during the annual gathering of Washington Newspaper Publishers Association members Friday, Sept. 28, in Yakima.
Nash is one of four of this year’s "portfolio winners." While most reporters who participate in the association’s annual Better Newspaper Contest compete against those working at newspapers with similar circulation numbers, the work of portfolio winners is judged in competition with peers from all of the state’s newspapers, small and large.
The judges said Nash’s "eclectic range of topics offers readers a look at the humanity and courage of a wide variety of local people."
The New York Press Association provided the judges for this year’s competition.
Gazette editor Michael Dashiell was named best in the state in two categories, picking up first place for Best Sports Page Design and another for Best Editorial Page.
The judges said Dashiell, who also serves as the Gazette’s sports editor, produced "A nicely balanced page with good headlines and good treatment of pictures."
The Gazette’s editorial page was "well deserving of first place … from design to copy … ."
Patricia Morrison Coate and Cathy Clark worked together to create "Living on the Peninsula: Peninsula Perspectives," which picked up a first place across all categories for Best Lifestyle/Culture Section. The Summer 2011 issue of the lifestyle quarterly featured peninsula photographers.
In the news
Gazette writers, photographers and designers all won awards in the Group III competition. Group III includes newspapers with a circulation of between 5,001 and 12,750.
Reporter Amanda Winters picked up a first place for Best Crime and Court Story for "A Gateway to Death." The judges declared it a "solidly reported, comprehensive piece … on a small town’s growing heroin problem."
Winners also scored a second-place award for Best Breaking News Story for "Teen dies in shooting," and a third place for Comprehensive Coverage of a Single Issue or Series for "Timeline of a tragedy."
Reporter Mark Couhig won a first-place award in the News of the Weird category for "The Compleat Geoducker," a first-person account of a geoducking expedition in Sequim Bay. The judges said it was "well-written, funny … and pretty darn weird."
Couhig also picked up first- and second-place awards in Best Editorial for "Can we talk?" and "Dazed and Confused: On the state of Washington’s medical marijuana law."
Nash won a second-place award for Best Lifestyle Feature Story, for "Sensing Sequim from above," which told the story of a blind parachutist making his first jump.
Dashiell’s "Music man gets his due" won second place for Best Story on the Arts. The story profiled Sequim High band director Vern Fosket, who this year was inducted into the Washington Music Educators Association’s Hall of Fame.
Gazette designer Jay Cline won a third-place award for his Color Feature Photo, "Storm’s last gasp?" which graced the cover of the Jan. 5, 2012, issue.
The Gazette staff also won second place for Best Feature Page Design for "Petals and Pathways," a preview of the 18th Annual Petals and Pathways Home Garden Tour.
Ad it up
The Gazette’s advertising department also turned in a stellar performance, picking up awards in six separate categories.
They showed their creativity by earning both the first- and second-place finishes for Most Original Ad Idea. Mandy Kay Harris and Debi Lahmeyer teamed up to top the category, with their ad "Success — Make It to Your Mountaintop."
Cathy Clark and Harmony Liebert were right behind with "An Eye on the Future."
Robert Morris and John Huston received a second-place award for Best Ad for Single Advertiser Promoting a Sale or Event (Larger than Half Page). The two won the award for their "July Fourth Weekend Sale" ad for the Longhouse Deli and Market.
Debi Lahmeyer and Cathy Clark won third place for their Multiple Advertiser Ad, "National Breast Cancer Awareness Month." The award-winning ad ran in the Gazette’s sister newspaper, the Forks Forum.
Cathy Clark, Jay Cline and Debi Lahmeyer worked together on "Fourth Annual Rainforest Run." The ad, which also ran in the Forum, was good for a second-place finish in Ad Campaign for Single Advertiser (B/W or color).
Cathy Clark and Harmony Liebert collaborated on "Carousel of Color," which picked up third place for Best Use of Process Color (Smaller than Half Page).
Julie Speelman and Mary Field worked together on "Tips for Safe Trick-or-Treating," which won second place for "Best Youth-Oriented Content."
