County Chronicle earns awards at Illinois Press Association convention
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The County Chronicle won seven awards last Thursday, including two first-place plaques, during the Illinois Press Association’s annual conference.
Nancy Rairden won first and fourth place in the sports photo category for mid-sized weekly newspapers with baseball photos of Arcola Purple Riders Brody Drake and Braden Phillips. “Nancy is one of the best sports photographers in the state, and this confirms it,” said David Porter, regional editor for The County Chronicle.
Judges said of Rairden’s first-place win: “The most technically proficient photo in the bunch. The angle of the pitcher’s body in relation to where the ball is makes for an interesting photo.”
Porter won a first-place award in the general news photo category with a picture of an Amish boy carrying hay bales at the Illinois Amish Heritage Center. Stephanie Wierman won second place in the same category with a photo of Arthur’s fireworks.
The Chronicle also won two places for best original column — second place for Porter’s Ramblin’ Man columns, and a third place for Mike Carroll’s columns. Ben Crane won second place for best spot photo for an image of an isolated storm.
“We only entered 10 items,” Porter said, “so I feel pretty good placing with seven of them. What really surprised me is that we also tied for fourth place in the sweepstakes category, considering how few entries we submitted.” The sweepstakes contest is based on accumulated points in the other categories.