SPRINGFIELD — Within the span of a yr, the Ford County Chronicle went from being the most recent small, nondaily newspaper in Illinois to being acknowledged as the very best.

The weekly publication serving the communities of Ford County and the encompassing space received the David B. Kramer Memorial Trophy within the Illinois Press Affiliation’s annual Excellence in Information contest Friday, just some weeks after the Chronicle marked its one-year anniversary as an IPA member.

The coveted trophy — named in reminiscence of the late writer and editor of the Gibson Metropolis Courier — goes yearly to the very best small, nondaily newspaper in Illinois. Counting the trophy, the Chronicle received 40 awards, together with 12 first-place honors, on this yr’s editorial contest, which was for work accomplished in 2021. It was the primary time that the Chronicle, established in July 2020, was eligible to compete within the contest.

“Final July, when the Chronicle grew to become a member of the IPA, I already had my eyes set on bringing again the David B. Kramer Memorial Trophy to Ford County,” the Chronicle’s co-publisher and information editor, Will Brumleve, stated. “It’s only becoming that the trophy return to Ford County, the place Mr. Kramer set such a excessive commonplace of excellence for group journalism.”

Brumleve and co-publisher/sports activities editor Andrew Rosten attended Friday’s awards luncheon on the President Abraham Lincoln DoubleTree Lodge in Springfield. They returned to Ford County with a 1-foot-high stack of first-place plaques, quite a few certificates for second- by fourth-place honors, and, in fact, the practically 2-foot-tall trophy, which will probably be on show within the Chronicle’s soon-to-be-opened new workplace in downtown Paxton.

Brumleve and Rosten mixed efforts to win the coveted trophy twice beforehand, each instances whereas they had been employed as information editor and sports activities editor, respectively, by the now-defunct Ford County Document. After each left the Ford County Document in January 2020, they began the Chronicle as a web-based publication the next month earlier than finally establishing their weekly newspaper on July 1, 2020. After a yr, the Chronicle was eligible to grow to be a authorized newspaper and be a part of the IPA, which it did final July. Right now, the Chronicle has practically 900 subscribers and a complete circulation of just about 1,100.

“Successful the IPA contest in simply our first yr of being eligible to enter it was positively not simple, and we actually wouldn’t have been capable of accomplish this with out numerous assist, together with from our award-winning correspondent Ross Brown, award-winning photographer Ryan Minion and award-winning columnist Angie Rouley,” Brumleve stated. “Their contributions — in addition to the contributions of correspondents Sandy Coffey and Jean Noellsch, who didn’t win an award — performed an enormous half.”

On this yr’s editorial contest, Brumleve received 23 awards whereas Rosten received 9. In addition they shared an award. Additionally, Brown and Minion every received two awards, whereas Rouley received one. The newspaper as an entire additionally received the overall excellence award.

The Chronicle competed in Division A, which is for small, nondaily newspapers. The Chronicle claimed the David B. Kramer Memorial Trophy, awarded because the sweepstakes award in Division A, forward of the Oakland Unbiased in second place, Panhandle Press in Raymond in third place and The Siddell Reporter and Tuscola Evaluation in a tie for fourth place.

Seven first-place awards went to Brumleve. The awards had been received within the classes of reports reporting (sequence), the Freedom of Data Award, authorities beat reporting, enterprise/financial reporting, agricultural story/sequence, headline writing and single web page design.

Rosten received two first-place awards — for a sports activities photograph and photograph sequence — whereas Minion and Brown every received one — for a spot information photograph and information reporting (single story), respectively. The Chronicle as an entire additionally took first place on the whole excellence.

Second-place awards included six for Brumleve (information reporting-series, enterprise/financial reporting, characteristic writing-personality profile, single web page design, the Knight Chair Award for greatest investigative/enterprise reporting and the Maurice Scott Award for greatest protection of taxation) and 4 for Rosten (sports activities part, sports activities information, COVID-19 sports activities protection and on-line photograph gallery).

Third-place awards included 5 for Brumleve (Public Discover Journalism Award, information reporting-series, authorities beat reporting, headline writing and particular part) and two for Rosten (sports activities information and sports activities column).

Six fourth-place honors went to Brumleve (Public Discover Journalism Award, authorities beat reporting, information reporting-series, information reporting-single story, COVID-19 information protection and agricultural story/sequence), whereas one fourth-place honor every was awarded to Rosten (headline writing), Brumleve and Rosten collectively (newspaper design), Minion (common information photograph) and Rouley (unique column).

The spotlight, in fact, was the David B. Kramer Memorial Trophy, which was established in 2014 by the Kramer household. Along with the Ford County Document, which received the trophy in 2017 and 2018, earlier winners embody the Woodstock Unbiased (2013, 2014, 2016 and 2019), LeRoy/Farmer Metropolis Press (2015) and Oakland Unbiased (2020).

Below Mr. Kramer’s management, the Gibson Metropolis Courier twice received the Loomis Trophy, which beforehand went to the very best weekly newspaper within the state. Mr. Kramer, who died in 2014, was a second-generation writer of newspapers in Gibson Metropolis, Monticello, Bement, LeRoy, Lexington, Chenoa, Colfax and Saybrook, serving as IPA president from 1972 to 1973.

Rosten stated profitable the trophy is “not only a victory for me and Will, however a victory for the Ford County group, as nicely.” Rosten stated he wish to thank the Ford County group for its help of the Chronicle.

“Nevertheless, as I say this, I additionally prolong ‘thanks’ notes to the Illinois Press Affiliation group,” Rosten stated. “At Friday’s conference, we acquired many congratulations, together with one from a former colleague of mine on the Herald & Evaluation. Additionally, it needs to be famous that, whereas Brumleve received the first- and third-place awards and honorable point out in authorities beat reporting, Gordon Woods of the Clinton Journal received second place. Woods was the primary editor for whom I labored as a reporter. Again then, I used to be simply an inexperienced child who was simply trying to get his ft moist in journalism. Once I labored half time for the Herald & Evaluation, I used to be a school graduate wanting to get his shot at a full-time gig. Each of those establishments gave me the prospect to show myself, and I took benefit of that, and after 10 years of reporting in Ford County, I’ve confirmed that I used to be worthy of working right here full-time. I assume the lesson there’s while you get a chance, take advantage of it, and when you see somebody looking forward to a chance, be open to giving one.”

Different trophy winners
Along with the Chronicle profitable the David B. Kramer Memorial Trophy, the opposite newspapers profitable their respective divisions and awarded sweepstakes trophies on this yr’s IPA editorial contest had been:

— The Chicago Solar-Instances, which received the Stuart R. Paddock Memorial Sweepstakes Trophy for big dailies. Runner-up amongst giant dailies was the The Information-Gazette of Champaign, and in third place was the Every day Herald Group of Arlington Heights.

— The Pantagraph of Bloomington, which took high honors within the small- to mid-sized every day newspaper class and was awarded the Patrick Coburn Award of Excellence Trophy. The Every day Chronicle of DeKalb claimed second place, and The Telegraph of Alton positioned third.

— The Hinsdalean of Hinsdale, which claimed the Will Loomis Memorial Trophy within the giant, nondaily newspaper class. The Journal-Information of Hillsboro acquired second place, whereas the Republic-Instances of Waterloo took third.

— The Woodstock Unbiased, which received the Mabel S. Shaw Memorial Trophy awarded to a medium-sized, nondaily newspaper. Second place went to the Cass County Star-Gazette of Beardstown, and in third place was Downers Grove Suburban Life.

The sweepstakes trophies had been awarded to the newspapers incomes essentially the most factors of their respective circulation divisions. Factors had been awarded for first place by honorable point out in most contest classes, together with common excellence, pictures, information writing, opinion writing, design, group service and editorial web page.

Practically 100 every day and nondaily newspapers competed in 40 editorial classes within the contest. The Alabama Press Affiliation judged the greater than 1,725 editorial entries.

The IPA additionally named a statewide Editor of the Yr and Reporter of the Yr on Friday. The Editor of the Yr was Misty Knisley, previously editor of The Every day Journal in Kankakee, whereas the Reporter of the Yr was Brenda Schory of the Kane County Chronicle.