Inter Lake advertising designer shines at state awards banquet

Daily Inter Lake ad designer Brenda Ritter was a top winner at the Montana Newspaper Association’s annual Better Newspaper Contest banquet on June 11.

Ritter was presented with six awards, including first place in three of the four advertising categories in Division 5, which includes all the state’s major daily newspapers.

She won first place for Best Combination Print and Online Ad for a campaign designed for Isley Jewelry. “Great image that works in print and online ... Simple can be best, especially across platforms,” the judge commented.

Ritter also won first place for her ad for Western Outdoor’s annual fair sale in the category of Best Ad to Sell or Promote Merchandise.

An ad she designed also won first place in the Best Newspaper Promotional Ad category. The advertisement, which touted the Inter Lake’s local connections, caught the eye of the judge for being “fun and easy to read.”

Ritter took one more first-place award for Best Combination Print and Online Ad in Division 3 for a Don K ad she designed for the Whitefish Pilot.

She also won third place in Division 3 for a Whitefish Pilot ad for Fisher’s Greenhouse in the Best Image Building Ad category. She won an additional third-place award for Best Combination Print and Online Ad for a Brannigan’s ad for St. Patrick’s Day that appeared in the Inter Lake.

Inter Lake composing department manager Anna Mahlen won a first place in Division 2 for Best Combination Print and Online Ad for an ad she designed for the Western News featuring multiple local businesses.

The Inter Lake’s newsroom was honored in four categories.

Photographer Aaric Bryan took first place for Best News Photo against all the state’s major dailies. His photo of a salvage yard fire in the Lower Valley was cited by the judge for “Amazing coverage and a great shot. This photograph tells the story perfectly and demonstrates technical and compositional skill.”

In addition, the Inter Lake won third place in three important contest categories: Sports reporter Andy Viano was honored in the Best Sport Story category for his profile of Troy athlete Sean Opland, the “Trojan Workhorse.” Reporter Hilary Matheson took third in Best Feature Story for “Lifetime of Locks,” an account of a teen’s first haircut. Former reporter Matt Hudson won third place for Best News Story for “Fear Factor,” his account of how an innocent Kalispell couple got caught up in a cybercrime investigation.

One of the Inter Lake’s sister newspapers, the Whitefish Pilot, took home 15 awards and was named the best weekly newspaper in Montana for its circulation size at the banquet, which fittingly was held at Grouse Mountain Lodge in Whitefish.

The Hungry Horse News received first place in the Montana Newspaper Association’s annual awards for best niche publication for its book, “Through Glacier Park 1915-2015, a Centennial Celebration of a Classic Journey.”

“This is an absolutely stunning specialty publication,” the judges remarked. The book was written, photographed and designed by Hungry Horse News Editor Chris Peterson.