2023 BNC Awards of Excellence Winners
Presented May 2024
Best Agriculture Section
- Town & Country This Week with Breeders Directory
- Ponoka News with Fall's Bounty
- Southern Alberta Newspaper Group with Insight
Honourable Mention:
- Claresholm Local Press with Celebrating Ag Week
Best Feature Column by Local Writer
- Ponoka News with Lessons on life and grieving from a box of paper, by Emily Jaycox
- Wetaskiwin Times with Wetaskiwin draws all kinds to it, by Christina Max
- Fort Macleod Gazette with Macleod Notebook, by Frank McTighe
Honourable Mention:
- Bashaw Star with Stepping outside your comfort zone, by Kevin Sabo
Best Feature Story By Local Writer
- Rocky Mountain Outlook with Searchers of Kananaskis plane crashes made ultimate sacrifice, by Jessica Lee
- Town & Country News (Grande Prairie) with The last newsstand; Al’s News Grande Prairie’s heritage business, by Jesse Boily
- Fort Macleod Gazette with Ham Radio Field Day, by Frank McTighe
Honourable Mention:
- Jasper Fitzhugh with NASA tests robot snake on Athabasca Glacier, by Scott Hayes
- Town & Country This Week with In a class of her own, by Barry Kerton
- Ponoka News with "Apartment building carbon monoxide leak brought back fear for Ukrainian refugee family", by Emily Jaycox
Best House Ad
- Jasper Fitzhugh with Sign Up For Our Newsletter!, by Melissa Morris
- Town & Country This Week with Get local news right to your inbox, by Glyn Parish
- Wainwright EDGE with 6 Reasons why you should Advertise, by Carrie Baumgartner
Best Local News Story
- St. Albert Gazette with ‘Nobody deserves this’: St. Albert residents appalled by treatment of loved ones in long-term care, by Rachel Narvey
- Shootin' the Breeze with Town hall gym debate divides town and user groups, by Dave Lueneberg
- Wetaskiwin Times with Citizens concerned about homeless shelter "losing faith", by Christina Max
Honourable Mention:
- Rocky Mountain Outlook with Canmore Utility Master Plan should be council approved: governance experts, by Greg Colgan
Best Special Supplement or Section
- Okotoks Western Wheel with Foothills Magazine
- Ponoka News with Ponoka Stampede
- Slave Lake Lakeside Leader with Letters to Santa
Honourable Mention:
- Wainwright Edge with I DO Bridal Guide
Education Writing Award
- Rocky Mountain Outlook with Bow Valley students learn cultural, ecological significance of bison, by Jessica Lee
- Shootin' the Breeze with Students training to become firefighters, by Dave Lueneberg
- Fort Macleod Gazette with F.P. Walshe Grade 7s help raise tipi, by Frank McTighe
Honourable Mention:
- Ponoka News with Crestomere School class pilots successful virtual lunar rover mission simulation, by Emily Jaycox
Effective Use of Colour in Advertising
- Taber Times with Halloween Party, by Bonnie Krizsan
- Slave Lake Lakeside Leader with Canadian Tires - Hunting, by Jisun Kwon
- Lloydminster Meridian Source with The Motley Troupe Dinner Theatre, by Dan Quach
Excellence in Creative Advertising
- Shootin' the Breeze with Steak Sale, by Shannon Peace
- Flagstaff/Sedgewick Community Press with Wawanesa, by Leslie Cholowsky, Eric Anderson
- Slave Lake Lakeside Leader with Whitecap Chevrolet Buick GMC - Halloween savings, by Jisun Kwon
Habitat Conservation Story
- Shootin' the Breeze with Growing concern for bats in Waterton Biosphere Reserve as white-nose syndrome looms, by Writer – William Cockerell, Photographer – Jaiden Panchyshyn
- The Mountaineer with Darwin Park shares Crimson Lake loon survey, by Brittany Willsie
- Wetaskiwin Times with WOW Wetaskiwin giving lessons on water and waste, by Christina Max
Honourable Mention:
- Castor Advance with Renewable energy having strong impact on province, Paintearth County, by Kevin Sabo
- Oyen Echo with Snakes on a plain, by Sheri Monk
Sports Writing Award
- Rocky Mountain Outlook with Peak performance: Canmore sharpshooter summits every visible peak in area, by Jordan Small
- Town & Country News (Grande Prairie) with Grande Prairie Storm in dire need financially: The reality is we will not make it through another year without help: Storm, by Jesse Boily
- St. Albert Gazette with Drag Racing Legend: Fastest Canadian has no intention of slowing down, by Jackie Carmichael
Honourable Mention:
- Slave Lake Lakeside Leader with So it is the fracking, after all, by Joe McWilliams
Sue Gawlak Best Local Editorial
- Slave Lake Lakeside Leader with So it is the fracking, after all, by Joe McWilliams
- Fort Macleod Gazette with Have Pride in Fort Macleod, by Frank McTighe
- Okotoks Western Wheel with Something smells with large-scale project, by Ted Murphy
Honourable Mention:
- Stettler Independent with MAiD and mental illness, by Kevin Sabo