Your local newspaper team collected a handful of notable awards at this year’s Quebec Community Newspapers Association gala, hosted in Montebello on the evening of Friday, June 13.
Former publisher and editorial writer Charles Dickson and photographer and layout whiz Dave Moore won first place in the Best Editorial Page category, awarded for page four in the Mar. 6, 2024 edition because of its “well-written and locally relevant” editorial, its “crisp” layout, its “fresh photo and design elements”, and its “lively letters section,” judges explained. Many thanks to those who wrote in for their contributions here!
Shawville-Clarendon fire chief Lee Laframboise received the first-place award in the Best Contributed Photo category for the image he submitted of Doug and Reuben Hodgins’ devastating house fire last August. Judges named this photo the winner for the impact it has on its viewer, and the attention it demands. A thank you is in order to Chief Laframboise who, while often on the scene of disaster, continuously shares critical and timely information with THE EQUITY, which makes it possible for this team to get important breaking news to the community. Thank you, Lee.
Sophie Kuijper Dickson won first place in the Best Feature Photo category, for the photo she took of young 4-H square dancers Braylie Bullis, Olivia Judd and Eloise Thompson practicing their steps outside Coronation Hall last spring.
THE EQUITY won third place in the arts and entertainment category for reporter K.C. Jordan’s feature story about a young Quyon musician using artificial intelligence to write Ottawa Valley-style country music; third place in the agricultural category for Sophie Kuijper Dickson’s story about farmers’ mental health in the Pontiac; and third place for best headline writing.
This newspaper also collected two of the evening’s most significant awards. Charles Dickson received the Egbert Gaye “Dare to Make a Difference” Award for his reporting and editorials on the subject of the energy-from-waste garbage incinerator proposal. This award recognizes an individual or media outlet whose reporting demonstrates “how local media can be an inspiring champion for change,” judges explained.
Finally, the Lindsay Crysler Outstanding Achievement Award was given to the entire Dickson family for its “75-year, multi-generational contribution to the social and economic evolution of their region through the local newspaper, THE EQUITY,” judges wrote.
“Through a period that has spanned decades, the Dickson family’s commitment to community – keeping it informed and reflecting its evolution – is the essence of what a community paper strives to accomplish.”
