CHEYENNE — Uinta County Herald staff were honored for their excellent work at the 120th annual Wyoming Press Association winter convention held in Cheyenne Jan. 17-19. The Pacemaker Awards are given annually to journalists, photographers, designers, advertisers and more for work done during the previous year. 

The Herald falls into the large weekly category, which also includes newspapers in Jackson Hole, Cody, Green River, Powell, Douglas, Buffalo and Star Valley. This year the entries were judged by newspaper staff from North Dakota, while photography awards were judged by photojournalists from The Denver Post. 

Herald reporter Sheila McGuire won first place in the general news category for a series of stories written about Uinta County School District No. 1’s ongoing process of adopting policies to allow approved staff to carry concealed firearms on district property. The judges said the “very well written” stories were “well prepared, without obvious bias, and educated the public on an issue that may be hard to understand from all angles.” 

McGuire and Herald managing editor Bryon Glathar picked up first-place honors in the spot news category for their front-page story written about Jonathan Olivares’ escape from the Uinta County Complex last June. Judges said the story was “very descriptive, very timely, and written to express the drama of the event.” 

Glathar, McGuire and Herald sales rep Pat Hansen were awarded second place for the Suicide Awareness special section that was published in September 2018. Judges were impressed with the layout and the emotional storytelling. 

Finally, in the writing category, McGuire won second place in the government reporting category for a story written last year about Uinta County elected officials getting raises. 

In the advertising categories, Herald staff picked up awards for design and production, with Sue Bruynes winning first place for small ad for an ad designed for Aspen Grove Nursery. Kelsie Liechty won second place for a merchandise ad created for Yeti auto sales that had a “nice, clean look” that made the judges “want to go buy a Yeti,” and Bruynes won an honorable mention award for use of color in an ad for an ad created for the grand opening of Discount Liquor’s second store on Overthrust Road.