Reporter Jonathan Haukaas was awarded a first place award in the category of “Action Color Sports Photo” by the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association for the photo pictured here, of a skateboarder doing a trick at Battle Ground Skate Park last fall.
Designer David Boehmke was awarded a first place
award in the category of “Best Feature Page Design” by
the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association for the
page design pictured here.
The Reflector stacked up a fine collection of awards for their writing, photography and design earlier this month at the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association’s 130th Annual Meeting.
The awards came against a score of formidable foes. The Reflector, with a circulation over 28,000, was in the highest category of circulation pools (12,501 and up), which pitted them against newsrooms significantly larger.
“It’s a great feeling to see The Reflector’s name in a wide variety of categories each year at the WNPA Award Ceremony and this year was extra special since most of our entries were from new employees,” Publisher Laura Venneri said. “Two of our reporters were fresh out of school and one had been in the industry for about two years prior to coming to The Reflector, but none of them had been with us for an entire year.”
“I am proud of the hard work and dedication of each employee at The Reflector,” Venneri said. “We have an amazing group of individuals that enjoy sharing stories and news with the community and receiving recognition at WNPA is an honor.”
Writing
All three of The Reflector’s reporters were recognized for their reporting.
• Rick Bannan took first place in the category of “Best Government Reporting” for his article titled “The Columbia River conundrum” in which he examines the details and major players of the Columbia River corridor.
• Jonathan Haukaas took second place in the category of “Best News, Short” (article under 850 words) for his article titled “Miscommunication leads to flooding on road” which details how a lack of communication between multiple parties led to road flooding at Dollars Corner last year.
• Cale Johnson took third place in the category of “Best Business Feature Story” for his article titled “Hair Stylist takes creative talents to a whole other level,” which features a local business owner who turned a trailer into a salon in Hockinson.
In sports, Johnson took second place in the category of “Best Sports News Story” for his coverage of La Center softball’s state championship in 2016, titled “La Center softball wins first state title.”
Johnson also took second place in the “Special Events/Festivals Special Sections” category for a preview of fall sports in the summer of 2016.
Design
Designer David Boehmke won three awards for his design work, including first place in the category of “Best Feature Page Design” for his design work on a page featuring a Ridgefield family who uses pallets as an art medium.
He also won second place in the category of “Best Front Page Design” for his work on the Columbia River conundrum article, and third place in the category of “Best Sports Page Design” for his work on a page featuring a Battle Ground High School wrestler winning the state championship.
Photography
Haukaas won three awards for his photography:
• First place in the category of “Action Color Sports Photo” for a picture he snapped of a skateboarder doing a trick at Battle Ground Skate Park last fall.
• Second place in the category of “Color Pictorial” for a photo of the Interstate 5 bridge across the Columbia River submerged in fog.
• Third place in the category of “Color Portrait (Human or Animal)” for a photo of a boy throwing corn cobs through a steel hoop at Pomeroy Farms in Yacolt last fall.
