Messenger wins four GPA awards
The Walker County Messenger has won four awards in the Georgia Press Association’s 2020 Better Newspaper Contest.
The awards were for articles and photographs published during 2019.
The newspaper won second place in the community service category with 10 articles spotlighting local groups and initiatives that fulfill a community need, including the LaFayette Care Mission food pantry, the inmate chaplain program at the Walker County jail that offers comfort and support for rehabilitation to inmates who choose to participate, the Northwest Georgia Animal Alliance’s efforts to help homeless and needy cats and dogs, the Haven’s support and acceptance for the area’s homeless and Backpack Blessings, which provides students at participating Walker County and Chickamauga schools with nutritious, non-perishable foods on Fridays to fight weekend hunger and to help prepare the students for Monday’s lessons.
“The newspaper focused hard on the area of community service in 2019, highlighting the works of groups who work to improve the quality of life for residents while drawing attention to those in the community who need help; the needy may not have a voice or may be forgotten, so the newspaper helps educate the community about these issues,” assistant editor Catherine Edgemon wrote in the competition submission.
The newspaper also won three awards for its sports coverage, including placing third in the sports section or pages category.
Sports editor Scott Herpst netted two awards, placing first in the sports column category and third for sports feature story.
“I said when I got hired on nearly 20 years ago that I didn’t pursue this job to win awards,” Herpst said. “I signed on out of a love of sports. I do take a tremendous amount of pride in my work, and I greatly appreciate the kind words of thanks and encouragement I get from our readers in the community. That’s my biggest reward. I owe a debt of gratitude to my editors and publishers for giving me the freedom to do my job the way I believe it should be done.
“I also want to thank everyone who has a hand in putting the sports section together on a weekly basis, from all of our local photographers who help supply me with incredible shots to make the pages look great to our hard-working advertising department to the folks who work on the design and layout
of each page to the coaches and others that call in and report their scores so I can write the stories. It’s truly a team effort.
“That being said, it is nice to see when the pride I take in my work is recognized by others in the industry. I have to thank them all as well.”
The Walker County Messenger, owned by Times-Journal Inc., is the county’s oldest continuous business, having published its first newspaper in 1877.
The Walker County Messenger competes in Division F, which includes all weekly newspapers having less than 3,000 circulation.
Tuesday, Aug. 18
The 6th Cavalry Museum in Fort Oglethorpe will host a new exhibit coming to the museum and opening on Aug. 18, the centennial of the ratification of the 19th Amendment. The story of women’s suffrage is a story of voting rights, of inclusion in and exclusion from the franchise, and of our civic development as a nation. “Votes for Women: A Portrait of Persistence,” a poster exhibition from the Smithsonian, celebrates the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment and explores the complexity of the women’s suffrage movement and the relevance of this history to Americans’ lives today.
Thursday, Aug. 20
The Catoosa County Democratic Party will meet Thursday, Aug. 20, via zoom. To participate in this meeting please send your email address to cagdemocrat@gmail.com. The CCDP will be accepting nominations for district post in all four districts via email and at this zoom meeting. Voting will be the following week via email and zoom. For more information: Cathy Amis Griffith, chair, Catoosa County Democratic Party, cagdemocrat@ gmail.com.
Tuesday, Aug. 25
A Girl And A Gun has formed a Northwest Georgia chapter and welcomes women of all experience levels. Those with an interest in competition, concealed carry, home defense, the safe storage of guns in the house or who want to get out and try something new with women are invited for