Watonga Republican staffers were honored with several awards this past weekend in Oklahoma City during the annual Oklahoma Press Association convention.
The convention was held at the downtown Sheraton hotel and was attended by hundreds of journalists and publishers from newspapers of all kinds throughout the state.
The Watonga Republican and Geary Star competed against other weekly papers in categories like photography, news content and advertising. The Geary Star took home several awards including:
• First Place, Large Space Ad – Tatiana Ryland & Kimberly Jenkins, 2020 Spring Livestock Show
• Second Place, Large Space Ad – Kimberly Jenkins, Cimarron Electric: So much to celebrate!
• Third Place, Large Space Ad – Tatiana Ryland, Congratulations Landon Holt
• First Place, Sales Promotion – Geary Invitational Section
The Watonga Republican also placed in most competition categories:
• Second Place, News Content
• Second Place, Advertising
• Third Place, Sales Promotion – Chalk Your Walk Contest
• First Place, Community Leadership – Black Lives Matter Special Section
• Third Place, Feature Story – Thomas Martinez, Living with Tourette’s
• Third Place, Column Writing – Connie Burcham
• Third Place, Small Space Ad – Tatiana Ryland & Kimberly Jenkins, McCrary Veterinary Hospital
• Second Place, Large Space Ad – Kimberly Jenkins, A2Z Auto Parts
• Third Place, Large Space Ad – Tatiana Ryland, Cimarron Electric: Hello Spring
• First Place, Front Page Design – Tatiana Ryland, July 29
The awards covered papers released during the 2020 calendar year.
Other Wesner Publications newspapers also fared well during the awards ceremony Saturday. The Hinton Record took first-place awards for Layout & Design, Front Page Design and News Story, while The Cordell Beacon won first prize for Featured Photograph.
In addition to the awards ceremony, OPA convention attendees also had the opportunity to learn from respected Oklahoma publishers and journalists in breakout sessions about a variety of topics. Three members of Oklahoma's congressional delegation — Reps. Kevin Hern, Stephanie Bice and Frank Lucas, whose 3rd District includes Watonga — spoke to attendees on Saturday morning and took questions from the crowd.
State Sen. Roger Thompson, R-Okemah, also briefed attendees about the 2021 Oklahoma legislative session that concluded last month.
Overall, Watonga Republican staffers agreed the weekend was a fun and informative experience that will help them better serve Watonga, Geary and the other communities they cover. "We have a winning team here at the Watonga Republican," said Republican general manager Kimberly Jenkins. "With Graham Dudley now in place as editor, we have the leadership needed to report accurately and timely in the Blaine County area. It is a pleasure working with such a dedicated staff. The awards received this weekend were indicative of their commitment to our readers. I see great things ahead for the Watonga Republican!"
The 2021 OPA convention was the first one held in person since 2019; the 2020 convention was held virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic.