Special Fighter: Pierce making his mark in MMA
June 21, 2016Be an effective citizen
June 21, 2016Once a year, newspaper types dress up nice, gather in a hotel ballroom somewhere around the state and applaud our collective effort. Editors submit their paper’s best work for judging, and a fellow press association selects winners in several categories. Points are awarded based on first-, second- and third-place wins and the top-point getters in five divisions are named Newspaper of the Year.
By now, you’ve deduced The Times is excited because we’re the Louisiana Press Association’s top paper in Division 2 – a slot that includes 10 daily publications and us.
In all, 58 newspapers, publications and college/university student newspapers submitted more than 2,000 entries – stories, page designs, photos, advertisements and graphics – for consideration.
This is the ninth consecutive year our paper has been named Newspaper of the Year – a feat that requires a number of people to achieve.
Major kudos are due our news team –writers John DeSantis, Casey Gisclair, Karl Gommel and photographer Jose Delgado – and designers Mariella Brochard and Rachel Lambert. Congratulations are also due to Melissa Duet and Mary Ditch, who not only contributed to The Times’ Neighbors section, but, along with Borchard, directed Point of Vue.
It’s generally the reporters, designers and photographers who, for better or worse, get the most attention, but we’d be amiss if we didn’t include the rest of the Rushing Media team in the celebration.
These are the folks many readers will likely never meet in person, but who help keep this train running on time. This includes our sales group, led by sales director Deanne Ratliff – Harold Cancienne, Linda Dupre, Martha Naquin, Jamie Mazerac, Linda Pontiff, Elizabeth Porche and Rusty Talbot; office manager Ashley Thibodeaux and her staff, circulation manager Michelle Ortego, classified sales rep Brandy O’Banion and, in accounts receivable, Jessica Gifford.
Of course, well-run trains also need strong leaders, and we have that at the top in publisher Brian Rushing.
It’s also worth noting our sister publication Point of Vue picked up several awards for photography and design. Credit is due to the many writers and photographers who contribute to the monthly publication. We’re also most appreciative of the service our carriers provide each week to deliver The Times, The Weekly, Gumbo and POV.
We promise you all we do is with you, our readers, in mind. It’s your vote of confidence, after all, that most matters to us. We’re looking forward to continuing to improve our product, hone our news skills and to deliver you an informative, reliable newspaper.
We look to you, our partners in this relationship, to join the effort. Know someone you’d like to see featured? Have a tip on a news story? Whatever is happening in your neighborhood let us hear from you. The Times is available online and on Facebook.
Our email addresses are listed to the left in the masthead, and our phone line is always available.
With your help and your continued readership, we vow to work just as hard this year to deliver the quality news you’ve come to expect.
Wise words
The Most Rev. Shelton Fabre, Bishop of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, took the unusual step this week of releasing for publication to newspapers throughout the area an opinion piece on climate change. Using examples from our own communities, the bishop expresses the view that the matter of man-made climate change is first and foremost a moral one, whose points transcend the political or the apathetic.
“For Catholics, climate change is first and foremost a moral issue disproportionately threatening the life and dignity of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people and reflecting a break in the covenant with our Lord to be good stewards of the earth entrusted to our care,” the bishop wrote.
The entire text of Bishop Fabre’s message is available to read at www.houmatimes.com.
We have too long been subjected to opinions that attempt to deny science. Arguments, as the bishop points out, are made from economic points of view as well as political.
His words have impact beyond the flock he tends to, and we would be well-advised to pay them heed.
Wise words
The Most Rev. Shelton Fabre, Bishop of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, took the unusual step this week of releasing for publication to newspapers throughout the area an opinion piece on climate change. Using examples from our own communities, the bishop expresses the view that the matter of man-made climate change is first and foremost a moral one, whose points transcend the political or the apathetic.
“For Catholics, climate change is first and foremost a moral issue disproportionately threatening the life and dignity of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people and reflecting a break in the covenant with our Lord to be good stewards of the earth entrusted to our care,” the bishop wrote.
The entire text of Bishop Fabre’s message is available to read at www.houmatimes.com.
We have too long been subjected to opinions that attempt to deny science. Arguments, as the bishop points out, are made from economic points of view as well as political.
His words have impact beyond the flock he tends to, and we would be well-advised to pay them heed. •
