Salmon Arm Mayor Nancy Cooper attempts to land a blow on coach Peggy Maerz during their demonstration bout at the Hit 2 Fit charity boxing event at Westgate Public Market on March 11, 2017. This photo earned silver for Lachlan Labere in the 2018 BC/Yukon Community Newspaper Awards presented April 28 in Richmond.

Salmon Arm Mayor Nancy Cooper attempts to land a blow on coach Peggy Maerz during their demonstration bout at the Hit 2 Fit charity boxing event at Westgate Public Market on March 11, 2017. This photo earned silver for Lachlan Labere in the 2018 BC/Yukon Community Newspaper Awards presented April 28 in Richmond.

Observer in the medals at provincial contest

Salmon Arm newspaper takes bronze in general excellence while Lachlan Labere takes silver for photo.

The Salmon Arm Observer came home with a bronze medal from the Ma Murray Community Newspaper Awards presented in Richmond on April 28.

Put on by the B.C. and Yukon Community Newspapers Association (BCYCNA), more than 60 newspapers in seven circulation categories took part in the annual contest.

In presenting the Observer with bronze, the judges stated: “The front page is clean and full of news, making readers want to pick up this paper every week. Easy-to-read layout, informative and well-written content. Solid community news coverage and a fabulous real estate section. Excellent first-hand experiences of effects of flooding in the May issue. Good use of the corporate website shell to present e-editions plus regularly updated local, regional and national stories.”

Taking gold and silver respectively in their circulation category were the Squamish Chief and the Gulf Islands Driftwood.

In the individual categories, reporter/photographer Lachlan Labere earned a silver in sports photography.

His winning photo pictured Mayor Nancy Cooper attempting to land a punch in a demonstration bout versus coach Peggy Maerz during the 2017 Hit 2 Fit charity boxing event.

The judges summed up Labere’s photo this way: “Strong image that conveys the intensity of the subjects and the moment. Good exposure and focus add to the depth of the image. Great job.”

Salmon Arm Observer