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Western Wheel wins big

It was a big night for the Western Wheel on Friday evening at the Alberta Weekly Newspaper Association’s annual awards dinner in Calgary.

It was a big night for the Western Wheel on Friday evening at the Alberta Weekly Newspaper Association’s annual awards dinner in Calgary.

The Western Wheel won seven awards, including three for individual reporters and a second place finish for one of the biggest of the night.

That would be second place for best overall newspaper with a circulation of more than 12,500. We finished a close second, narrowly edged out of first by one of our sister publications – the St. Albert Gazette. The Western Wheel also placed first for best Front Page, Best Sports Page and second for Editorial and Opinion pages.

On top of that, reporter Krista Conrad won first place for Best Feature Story for her article profiling Al Dickie, resident of Black Diamond who constructed two working, scale models of grain elevators. Entertainment reporter Tammy Rollie placed second for the Excellence in Culture Writing award for her coverage of Okotokians involved in the film industry, both locally and on a broader stage.

Photojournalist Brent Calver took first place for Best Spot News photo for a photo of an Okotoks firefighter trying to extinguish a hay bail on fire at night. He also took honourable mention for Best Human Interest photo.

To win seven awards is both exciting and humbling. We have an incredibly talented group of people working at the Western Wheel. From sales and administration, to the reporters and carriers, there’s a lot of people who work hard to produce the newspaper you’re holding in your hand.

On behalf of Publisher Matt Rockley, thank you to Western Wheel staff, and thank you to our advertisers and readers. We wouldn’t be here without you.

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