2020 Better Newspaper Contest Rules & Hall of Fame Nominations
Entries for the 2020 Better Newspaper Contest are due February 19, 2020.
Click here for complete contest rules and Hall of Fame nomination instructions.
PPA holds 2020 awards dinner in Amarillo
The 110th annual meeting of the Panhandle Press Association was held July 24 in Amarillo at the Hoffbrau Steakhouse.
The association’s annual convention was scheduled for March 20-21 in Perryton, but the COVID-19 pandemic call off that plan, leading to the PPA’s main events being distilled into one banquet.
PPA Scholarship winner Faith Douglas of Canyon (center) stands with PPA Secretary Roger Estlack, Canyon News editor Tim Ritter, PPA President Tara Huff, and PPA Vice President Jeff Blackmon. Not present: PPA Scholarship winner Kade Miller of Panhandle.
Faith Douglas of Canyon and Kade Miller of Panhandle were recognized as scholarship recipients for the coming year.
Dr. Robert Riza of Riza Executive Leadership was the keynote speaker for the evening. Dr. Riza focused his remarks on staying relevant in a changing world and encouraged papers to seek out new partnerships and offer new services to continue to serve their communities.
The late Harry Koch of the Quanah Tribune and the late Nancy Young of the Borger News-Herald and the Pampa News were inducted into the PPA Hall of Fame.
Koch, at the age of 24, purchased the Quanah Chief in 1891. Three years later, he acquired the Quanah Tribune. He combined them into the Quanah Tribune-Chief. He was the editor/owner for 50 years until his death. Through the newspaper, Koch was an advocate for Quanah and its growth. He was involved with the Panhandle Press Association from its inception. He was actively involved in other press associations as well and was the Texas Press Association president in 1918-19, the West Texas Press Association in 1918, and the North West Texas Press Association in 1903-04. He also served as vice president of those associations as well as vice president of the PPA in 1935-36.
Nancy June Christian Young was a lifetime Stinnett resident and worked in the newspaper industry for more than 40 years at both the Borger News-Herald and the Pampa News. She was the editor of the Stinnett Herald during the 1970s and 1980s before working as a reporter at the Borger News-Herald. In the early 1990s, Nancy went to Pampa. In 2003, she came back to Borger, and was named editor in 2004. She remained there until her retirement in 2006. After her retirement, Nancy began an online newspaper named Hutchinson County. Highlights, as she called it, provided former and current residents information about Borger, Fritch, and Stinnett. One of her key concerns was sharing the background and history of Hutchinson County with its residents. As Facebook became popular, Nancy saw another avenue in which to ensure information was passed on and created the Stinnett Rattler Page. Nancy died Aug. 30, 2019, at the age of 76.
Winners of the 2019 PPA Better Newspaper Contest.
In the PPA Better Newspaper Contest, The Clarendon Enterprise won General Excellence honors in Division One, and The Canyon News topped Division Two. Clarendon and the Moore County News*Press were named as the recipients of the Ken Towery Community Service Award for Divisions I and II respectively. Complete contest results can be found here: Division One and Division Two.
Tara Huff of the Eagle-Press in Fritch was recognized for her service as PPA president this past year. The membership re-elected Huff to lead the PPA for 2020-2021 along with re-electing Vice President Jeff Blackmon of Hereford and Secretary/Treasurer Roger Estlack of Clarendon. The membership also elected John Lee of Pampa and Mary Smithee of The Canadian Record as new board members. They will join the following current directors for the coming year: Mary Dudley of Perryton, Tim Ritter of Canyon, and Michael Wright of Dumas. Joni Yara of Booker continues on the board as the PPA’s Immediate Past President.
Next year’s Panhandle Press Convention will be held in Amarillo at a date to be determined later.
CONVENTION POSTPONED
ATTENTION: Due to the COVID-19 threat and in light of Gov. Abbott’s orders today, the Panhandle Press Convention scheduled for this weekend in Perryton has been postponed. We will keep you up to date, once this crisis subsides, of the selection of an alternate date for the convention.
Register to win grand prizes!
REGISTER & ATTEND TO WIN! PPA is pleased to offer TWO big prizes for those newspapers that attend our welcome lunch on Friday, March 20, in Perryton.
The GRAND PRIZE, worth more than $1,110 includes a MICROSOFT SURFACE PRO 4 and the following online graphic services from Metro Creative Services: the 2020 Holiday Advertising Service free; three free months of the main Metro Newspaper Service (for new customers) to give you the tools you need to make and sell amazing ads; and 3 months free of Metro’s spec ad customization tool wizard!
The RESERVE GRAND PRIZE, worth $220, includes all you need to shoot great video and interviews with your smart phone, including a Sunpak – Lighted Portable Vlogging Kit for Smartphones; a JOBY – Smart Stabilizer for Mobile Phones; and an IK Multimedia iRig Mic Lav microphone!
The details: Rule #1 – Each person you register for Friday’s luncheon will count as a separate entry for your newspaper. (i.e., The Daily Planet brings five people to the lunch, it gets five tickets in the drawing.) Rule #2 – You must be present to win.
2020 PPA Convention Registration
Register today for the 2020 PPA Convention in Perryton! Hotel reservation deadline is March 13. Hall of Fame Ballot Deadline is March 6. Convention registration Deadline is March 12.
Click here for convention information, registration form, and Hall of Fame Ballot.
CURRENT CONTEST RULES
Contest entries for the 2019 PPA Better Newspaper Contest can be by clicking here. Early bird entries are due January 18, 2019. Final deadline for entries is January 25, 2019.
2019 PPA REGISTRATION
Register today for the 2019 PPA Convention in Amarillo. Hotel reservation deadline is February 22. Hall of Fame Ballot Deadline is March 1. Convention registration Deadline is March 8.
Click here for convention information, registration form, and Hall of Fame Ballot.
2021 Hall of Fame Nominations
The Deadline to nominate someone for the 2021 class of the Panhandle Press Hall of Fame is February 4, 2022. Details and nomination form can be found by clicking here.
2019 PPA Better Newspaper Contest Rules
Contest entries for the 2018 PPA Better Newspaper Contest can be by clicking here. Early bird entries are due January 18, 2019. Final deadline for entries is January 25, 2019.
2018 Convention Registration / Hall of Fame Ballot
The registration information for the 2018 PPA Convention and the Hall of Fame Ballot is available at the following link. We look forward to seeing everyone in Childress!