The Summerland Advocate-Messenger - Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community

The "Summerland Advocate-Messenger" brought home 17 awards from the Nebraska Better Newspaper Contest. Recipients were announced Saturday, during the Nebraska Press Association awards banquet at the Cornhusker Marriott Hotel in Lincoln.

SAM competed in Class A, which features weekly newspapers with circulation up to 699. Entries were published in 2022.

The paper took top honors in five categories, including agriculture advertisement, featuring Automated Dairy Specialists; signature Page, including the 2022 junior-senior prom and creative ad writing, celebrating National Newspaper Week.

Publisher LuAnn Schindler won sports column writing, with a submission about the Big 10 addition of PAC 10 schools.

In personal column writing, Schindler's submissions included a senior exit interview for 2022 graduates and an explanation of creative cooking. The two columns earned first place.

SAM finished second in 10 categories.

Schindler and designer Elizabeth Odell were recognized for classified Page design.

The editorial Page received three second-place honors, including reader interaction, for a weekly social media poll question and social sound-off; editorial Page design and editorial writing.

A signature Page entitled "Thursday Night Lights," celebrating the Summerland Bobcat football team as they entered the playoffs, placed second.

In sports action photography, Amy Kerkman placed second, with a picture of Alec Schindler retrieving an errant pass and narrowly missing the face of Keegan Smith as Schindler inbounded the ball.

A photo Page recapping Clearwater's Big Rodeo received second place. Photos were taken by Courtney Soper, Erin Schwager, Mike Tabbert and Faith King.

Schwager and Schindler combined forces to produce powerful headlines. King, Schindler and other staff members oversee the SAM website, which placed second.

In youth coverage, Schwager, Schindler, Odell and Sandy Schroth fine-tuned three submissions, including an FFA week section, feature on an austistic student and letters to santa Claus, along with elementary student artwork, which earned silver.

A photograph, snapped by Angie Robertson, from wildfires which spread across Holt, Antelope and Knox counties last March received third place.

Schindler received third place for use of computer graphics, designed in house, for a St. Patrick’s Day quiz which appeared in the March 17 edition.

Based on those results, SAM finished second in both print and digital divisions among 40 Class A newspapers. The “Stanton Register” won the division.

Other division winners included “North Bend Eagle,” Class B; “Ord Quiz,” Class C and “Orchard Antelope County News,” Class D.

“Norfolk Daily News” was the winner in the daily category, which excludes dailies in Lincoln and Omaha.

More than 2,544 separate entries were judged by members of the West Virginia Press Association.

The “Cedar County News” in Hartington was the Community Newspaper Digital Sweepstakes Award, which was also sponsored by R.L. “Butch” and Nancy Furse, long-time former publishers and NPA members.

The “Grand Island Independent” is the daily newspaper to win the Digital Sweepstakes Award.