Vaughan Today gets two award noms by OCNA

MORE THAN A HANDFUL: Town Crier managing editor Gordon Cameron, left, with a little help from Ontario Community Newspapers Association president Don McLeod shows off the impressive haul of awards for both the Town Crier and Vaughan Today. The papers took home eight awards in six categories.

Staff of Vaughan Today and its sister publications the Town Crier and Toronto Today received a wonderful Valentine’s Day treat as they were informed they had been named finalists for seven Better Newspaper Competition Awards by the Ontario Community Newspapers Association.

Vaughan Today, which won the Surfer’s Selection category last year, is once again a finalist for the award.

Copy editor Shawn Star is a finalist in the Arts & Entertainment category for “A song rising out of tragedy”, his Vaughan Today story about Dom Polito who relearned to play guitar after having two fingers on his right hand crushed in an industrial accident.

Leading the way was Toronto Today, which picked up two finalist nods including one for Columnist of the Year for Sports Editor Brian Baker’s Game Fixer column. Judges looked at three of Baker’s columns: “The context is the message”, “Fight the power” and “Respect is due volunteers”. This award is considered one of the premier writing awards as it represents a body of work rather than just a single story. It also marks the first time any writer from our publications has been a finalist for it.

Toronto Today‘s website is also a finalist in the Surfer’s Selection category where Ontario Community Newspapers Association members choose their favourite website from those across the province.

The Town Crier newspapers were led by former reporter Joshua Freeman whose story “Laird’s new vibe” from our 2011 Leaside Today  guide was judged as one of Ontario’s top three Business or Finance stories. In the article, Freeman looks at how the once-industrial strip has changed with the addition of the Smart Centre in its midst.

The Town Crier cleaned up in the Health & Wellness category taking two of the three finalist positions for stories written for our Kids & Families section. First up, former intern Sharon Ko’s “Time for that talk” explores not only how difficult it can be for parents to talk to their kids about sex, but also tips and tricks on how to do it in an age-appropriate manner that won’t send them running for the hills. Another former intern Alima Hotakie became a finalist for her story “Living life in the raw – one bite at a time” which explores the cuisine, lifestyle and challenges associated with living on a raw food diet.

Congratulations to all our finalists.

Winners will be announced during an awards gala at the Royal York on April 27.