Herald gains five awards in WNA contest

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The Pierce County Herald staff earned one first-place and four other awards for its special sections and other advertising products at last month's Wisconsin Newspaper Association (WNA) Better Newspaper Contest awards at Middleton.

The Herald's "Portraits in Pierce County," an annual magazine-style section which carries personality feature stories and related advertising, was named Best Special Section. Sales representatives Vicky Howe and Tracy Webb were recognized for the work, along with designer Laura Howard.

Judges from the Illinois Press Association offered these comments:

"Great design work. Clean, attractive ads with great color. Very classy looking ads that are easy to read. Photos make all the ads very personal too. Super section!"

The ad staff also earned second-place awards for Best Use of Color (Webb and Howard for a Reuvers Nursery and Garden Center ad) and Best Online Advertising; Single Ad Animated for an ad created by Webb and designer Travis Schaefer for AJ's Express Lube and Car Wash.

The Herald also won third-place recognition, including the Bill Payne Award for an ad--"Family-fresh, quality values for generations"--created by Webb and designer Shelly Hansen. It also took a third award for Best Online Advertising for a single ad, animated, for "Get Your Cheese for Game Day!" Webb and designer Schaefer created the message.

The 2011 Better Newspaper Contest included 2,869 total entries from 135 newspapers. Eligible entries were published between Sept. 1, 2010, and Aug. 31, 2011.

Also at last week’s convention, members installed Steve Dzubay, publisher of the Hudson Star-Observer, River Falls Journal and New Richmond News, as association president.

Dzubay, 53, has served on various committee capacities and on WNA's board of directors for several years.

The WNA was established in 1853 and is the oldest press association in the world. Created by and for Wisconsin's newspapers, WNA exists to strengthen the newspaper industry, enhance public understanding of the role of newspapers, and protect basic freedoms of press, speech and the free flow of information.

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