The staff of The South Cass Tribune won eight awards in the Missouri Press Association’s 2020 Better Newspaper Contest.
Managing Editor Dennis Minich won five awards including two first-place prizes, reporter Sheryl Stanley took two third-place awards and Publisher Linda Thompson took a third-place award in the Tilghman Cloud Memorial Editorial Awards.
Thompson’s editorial concerned the contentious relationship between the former mayor and the newspaper.
Minich’s first places were for Best Health Story and Best History Story. The health story was about Cass Regional Medical Center’s response and action following the death of a colonoscopy patient.
In their comments, the judge of the category said, “The writer of this story had a tough job to do by not only explaining the hospital was in compliance, but also to try and make readers realize that a colonoscopy remains important. I applaud the way the writer spoke to the hospital about the death and let them tell their side while also stressing the importance of the procedure and colon cancer rates.”
Minich’s history story was the family of a Pearl Harbor victim returning a letter he had written just days before the attack.
The judge said, “The story was moving and very interesting.”
Minich earned second place in both Best Columnist-Humorous and Best Sports Feature Story. The sports story entry was about Harrisonville wrestlers Sam East and Nonnie Justice winning state championships.
Minich also had an honorable mention in Best Feature story for his profile of Delmar Davis, a native of Harrisonville who served in World War II in the Merchant Marines and later became known as the “Basket King” in Camdenton.
Stanley’s awards came in Best Religion Story and Best Story About Education. Her religion story was about Poese Vatikani, the new minister of Archie United Methodist Church who is from Tonga in the South Pacific.
Her education story was about Noble, the golden retriever which serves as the official therapy dog at Sherwood.
The Missouri contest was judged by members of the South Carolina Press Association. The awards were presented virtually Sept. 24.