Jill's Journal: Proud of our accomplishments, but what are they?

This was the year the Brandon Valley Journal was going to shine among its peers.

While I like to think we “shine” with every issue we publish, for the first time since the Journal launched in 2017, this newspaper finally “earned its wings” to participate in the South Dakota Newspaper Association’s “Better Newspaper Contest.”

Now, that may not seem like a such big deal to some, to those of us in the industry, we equate this competition to that of a state tournament similar to the post-season prize that all of our Brandon Valley Lynx teams take aim at.

In case you’re wondering, according to the Association’s bylaws, we were required to publish 52 consecutive issues before the Journal could gain membership into the SDNA.

We did that.

But we still had to wait yet another year to enter the contest. The bylaws also require that to compete in the contest, you had to be an SDNA member from January to December.

Unfortunately, we didn’t achieve those stripes until the latter part of 2018.

So, when January 2019 rolled around, we’d finally met all the criteria: first publishing 52 consecutive week, then gaining membership, and then membership for an entire year. It was also at this time that I encouraged my staff to keep note of their best news, sports and feature stories, photos and special sections, well-designed pages and advertisements.

So, we did that, and when the time final arrived to enter the contest, we confidently submitted 38 entries in all total, and then excitedly awaited the news of how we fared. But what we’re not privy to are which entries caught the judges’ attention.

Now, for those of you who know me well, you surely know that I possess somewhat of a competitive spirit. (I’ve been known to show my great-nephews and -nieces that there’s no mercy in life, including in games of Candyland or Sorry.) It was about a month ago when an email popped up in my inbox, congratulating the Journal on the honors (individual and as a staff) that were coming our way: 16 in all total. 

At that moment, I felt like a kid in a candy store with a pocket full of money and no rules. I immediately shared the good news with my staff, including kudos for a job well done.

This was the week that my staff and I were scheduled to learn of our good fortune at the SDNA convention. This was the week that I would’ve packed a bag, gassed up my trusty Impala and hit the for road for Deadwood, an added bonus of this year’s convention.

Notice I used the word, “was.”

With an obvious halt in nearly every facet of our daily lives, the coronavirus had postponed the convention to early July. I was OK with that. After all, a trip to Deadwood in July was just as enticing as a trip to Deadwood in April, and with a load of awards coming our way, there’s no way I was coming home “empty-handed” even if I happened to wander into a casino or two while there.

Late last week, the SDNA decided to cancel this year’s convention in altogether. I won’t lie, I felt like a kid whose big, red balloon had just been popped. 

Albeit disappointed that I won’t be packing a bag and gassing up the Impala, I can proudly say that the Brandon Valley Journal is truly an award-winning newspaper, and I’m proud as a peacock to “fan our feathers” coronavirus-style: Six feet of distance between you and I and printed in this award-winning paper.

Editor’s note: The SDNA will be announcing the Better Newspaper Contest award winners in early May. The Journal will share its honors at that time.