Nevada Daily Mail wins first place in General Excellence from Missouri Press Association

Nevada Daily Mail Publisher Julie Righter, Editor Lynn A. Wade accept the Daily Mail's awards at an awards brunch hosted by the Missouri Press Association in Kansas City, Oct. 17, with MPA President Vicki Russell. --Missouri Press Association photo

"It's quite an honor, to have your peers look to this publication as one of the leaders in the state. But it's even more an honor to work with a group of men and women who make winning this kind of award possible. This is a special award that gives a nod to all of the newspaper's content -- news, advertising, layout, print quality -- even the treatment of legal notices is considered by judges. it takes everyone to earn this kind of award. It also takes a community that shares information freely and that helps us fill the pages with as much local news as we can," said Nevada Daily Mail editor Lynn A. Wade.

Wade has been editor of the 126-year-old publication since November 2002.

Local photographer Bill Wynn captures an image of Nevada Daily Mail photographer/reporter Ralph Pokorny, who was awarded Honorable Mention for Best Feature Story in the Weekend Herald-Tribune, for a story about a local woman who was one of the first to be inducted into the United States. Navy. Pokorny has earned many awards for photography throughout his tenure at the Nevada Daily Mail.

Through the years, the Nevada Daily Mail has earned numerous awards, including several first, second, third place and honorable mention honors in photography, news and feature writing, editorial page content and more. This year, reporter and photographer Ralph Pokorny also earned an honorable mention award for a feature story written about a local woman who was one of the first women admitted into the United States Navy.

The Nevada Daily Mail's commitment to excellence begins in the information gathering stage. A newsroom staff of seven, including the editor, two full time reporters, a part-time reporter/photographer, sports writer and two page designers, seeks out information, writes, takes photos and prepares them all for publication. Work schedules overlap in an effort to provide opportunities for coverage of as much of the day and evening hours as possible. "We work when other people play, when other people celebrate holidays, to chronicle life in this area as completely as we can. There's no way we can be everywhere, or do all of the things we want to do. There aren't enough hours in the day; but we want to, because we love what we do and we appreciate the people we serve. So, we also enlist the help of our readers, who are generous with providing photos and information that helps us make your newspaper more meaningful to you," Wade said.

Meanwhile, front desk and circulation staff are taking care of customers, working hard to provide the best service we can; administering legal ads, following up on billing issues and greeting our customers with a smile as they come in the door.

Two of the Nevada Daily Mail's composing staff, Ryan Wallace and Miranda Bronson are hard at work, creating ads and compiling content. Not pictured are Elise Phillips and department manager Amber Palmer.

In the mailroom, people are busy at all sorts of crazy hours, inserting information customers need from local companies about their goods and services, and packing up the newspapers for the post office by 4:30 a.m., which then delivers them in the mail. Advertising consultants are helping local businesses and individuals find the most effective ways to get the message across in their ads, offering them unique opportunities to send out their message in special promotions like sports booster pages, special sections on health, hunting and fishing, bridal advice and news, home improvement information and other special opportunities throughout the year. The composing department creates the ads and works hard to try to make the newspaper, and customers' ads, a visually appealing effort that will catch the eye.

Then, it all goes to the presses, where a professional, dedicated crew of three works hard to make sure the newspaper is presented in the best possible way.

"We couldn't do it without any of them, and we couldn't do it without you, the public we serve. Thank you, Vernon County, for all you do, for all you share with us, and for your support these past 126 years," Wade said.

To get the newspaper from press to customer, a great deal of work takes place in the mailroom. Above, Chassedi Cooper takes on double duty as mailroom supervisor (she's also editorial assistant in the newsroom, where she inputs information and designs pages. She also steps in when needed for writing or taking photos.) while Joe Dobson helps with inserting advertisements into the Nevada News/Countryside publications. --Photos by Lynn A. Wade and Ralph Pokorny/Daily Mail|

The Nevada Daily Mail's press crew, Rick Marti, Joe Spencer and Chris Jones, at work in the press room. This time, they're printing a contracted job for a customer. The Nevada Daily Mail press prints several area publications.

Lula Bradley helps a customer find an item that appeared in a recent edition of the Nevada Daily Mail. Front desk staff members assist customers with a wide variety of inquiries daily.