OKLAHOMA CITY – Watonga Republican staffers attended a two-day convention in Oklahoma City this past weekend with representatives of newspapers from across the state.
The Republican walked away with four first-place awards at the Saturday-night ceremony that caps the annual Oklahoma Press Association convention, taking top honors for news content as well as design, sales and photography awards. The awards were for submissions from 2021.
Meanwhile The Lincoln County News, which shares common ownership with the Watonga Republican, won the Sequoyah Award for 2021’s best newspaper in Division 7, which denotes weekly newspapers in cities with a population between 2,000 and 3,500.
Watonga’s first-place awards at the OPA convention included:
• News Content
• Sales Promotion (“Watonga Cheese Festival guide”)
• Feature Photograph, Graham Dudley (“Firefighter Walk”)
• Front Page Design, Tatiana Ryland (“May 12: Track & field state champs”)
Other awards the Republican captured on Saturday were:
• Advertising, Second
• Photography, Third
• Sports Story, Graham Dudley, Second (“State champs”)
• Education Story, Graham Dudley, Second (“Girls seek dress code changes”)
• In-depth Reporting, Graham Dudley, Second (“Watonga police chief investigation”)
• Small Space Ad, Kimberly Jenkins, Third (“RoCo Dog Grooming Salon”)
• Large Space Ad, Kimberly Jenkins and Tatiana Ryland, Third (“Cimarex Christmas”)
Ryland swept the Front Page Design category, capturing not only first place but also second (for the Sept. 15 edition) and third (for the May 19 graduation edition). The Watonga Republican competed against other Division 7 newspapers for the awards.
The weekend offered opportunities not only for recognition, but for learning and networking. On Friday night, attendees checked in and were greeted with a welcome dinner and trivia night.
Saturday brought a keynote address from Bill Hancock, an Oklahoma native and president of the College Football Playoff. Attendees then enjoyed learning sessions with panelists who discussed editorial and sales topics.
Saturday morning also featured a Q&A session with members of Oklahoma’s congressional delegation. Reps. Frank Lucas and Stephanie Bice attended for the second straight year and were joined this year by Rep. Markwayne Mullin, who is now running for U.S. Senate.
The convention was held at the Sheraton hotel in downtown Oklahoma City.
Other Sequoyah Award winners for best newspapers in each division included The Cameron University Collegian, the Fairfax Chief, The Purcell Register, the Choctaw Times, the Midwest City Beacon, the Duncan Banner, the McAlester News-Capital and The Norman Transcript. For the first time this year, divisions were organized by city population rather than by newspaper circulation.