Pathfinder receives Division 1 General Excellence Award

“I can’t believe we won,” said Olivia Bourne, daughter of Seeley Swan Pathfinder owners Nathan and Andi Bourne after the Seeley Swan Pathfinder received the top award for Division 1 in the Montana Newspaper Association 2020 Better Newspaper Contest. The Pathfinder received the General Excellence Award for Division 1 Thursday, Oct. 15 out of newspapers across the state that were recognized in the contest with general circulations of less than 1,250.

In a virtual presentation, MNA Executive Director Matt Gibson went through the 35 categories that were judged. More than 2,700 entries were received for the five divisions including weekly and daily newspapers across the state.

For the first year since the Bournes have been publishing the Pathfinder, their entire editorial staff in 2019, including A Place for All columnist Carleen Gonder, was recognized in the top three. The Pathfinder staff received 21 awards, placing in 14 categories.The Pathfinder’s awards included:

First Place Awards:

• Skylar Rispens’ and Colleen Kesterson’s continuous news coverage of the Holland Lake Day Use Fees

• Betty Vanderwielen’s “Vietnam veteran still struggling with the aftermath of war”

• Carleen Gonder’s “Pockets of Wild”

• Mark Henckel Outdoor Writing Award Andi Bourne’s article featuring Patti Bartlett entitled “Living in Lion Country”

• Andi Bourne’s story about Rick Butler’s “Epic ending to a great adventure”

• Seeley Lake Chicken Coop’s Big Game Party ad

Second Place Awards:

• Nathan Bourne’s photo of Parker Pitman mutton busting at Helmville Rodeo

• Nathan Bourne’s photo of the lumber truck roll over on the banks of the Clearwater River

• Andi Bourne’s story about Chase Cahoon - “Chasing a Cure”

• Andi Bourne’s portrait photo of Kieu Snow’s 4.91-pound northern pike at the Kid’s Fishing Tournament

• Andi Bourne’s story about Colby Evenson ”Choosing the best line, chasing the dream”

• Andi Bourne’s story about David Cahoon: “Cahoon steps up as Lady Blackhawks head coach”

• Winterfest sponsorship page

• SSHS’s Prom layout and design

• Best website

Third Place Awards:

• Mark Henckel Outdoor Writing Award Sigrid Olson’s article entitled “Potomac horse found after 50 days”

• Andi Bourne’s article about Mike Dellwo entitled “Keeping his eye on the target”

• Skylar Rispen’s news photo of the Seeley Lake Community Foundation building ribbon cutting

• Nathan Bourne’s Fourth of July fireworks photo over Seeley Lake

• Nathan Bourne’s photo of the 2019 Pond Hockey Championship on Seeley Lake

• Andi Bourne’s portrait photo of Laura Devins and Lenora during the Snow Joke

The Flathead Beacon received their year’s Thomas Dimsdale Award for Best Weekly Newspaper in Montana. The Billings Gazette received the Sam Gilluly Award for Best Daily Newspaper in Montana

“We are honored to be recognized among other excellent publications in the state,” said Andi Bourne, Seeley Swan Pathfinder’s Editor. “We have an incredible staff, who put in a tremendous amount of work capturing the stories and issues of our valley. We couldn’t be more proud of them and the recognition we received from our peers at the Wyoming Newspaper Association.”

The mission of the Montana Newspaper Association is to advance and sustain the news publishing industry in Montana. The association has 84 professional member newspapers and was established in 1885. The full presentation of all the awards can be found online at: https://www.mtnewspapers.com/better-newspaper-contest/