Local Newspaper wins Gold Level Award for excellence

Marge Mueller, Editor of Richmond Beach Community News

Updated 6-8-2011 11:34pm
Richmond Beach Community News, a publication of Richmond Beach Community Association, has been awarded Gold Level recognition in the 2011 Neighborhoods, USA (NUSA) Neighborhood Newsletter Competition at the organization’s conference, held this year in Anchorage, Alaska. The Newsletter Competition acknowledged excellence in neighborhood newsletters, which are a vital communication tool for neighborhood news and activities. The competition featured two categories: electronic format and printed format, with gold, silver and bronze level awards in each category. Entries were evaluated by a jury panel, which used a list of criteria that included content, layout, and overall appearance.

This is the first year that this competition was held by the NUSA. There were a total of 38 entries in the Newsletter Competition, with 11 entries in the electronic category and 27 in the printed category; entries came from all corners of the country.

The Richmond Beach Community Association publishes the newspaper to publicize its events and provide news and information of community interest to Richmond Beach residents. The newspaper is a monthly publication that is delivered free of charge to more than 2500 households in the neighborhood; an additional 500 papers are placed in local businesses. The paper is entirely volunteer-run, with a small staff of Editor, Marge Mueller; Copy Editor, Kay Brittain; Information Officer, Sheri Ashleman; Advertising Manager, Tony Flock; Billing Manager, Ted Mueller; Treasurer, Jack Malek; and Circulation Managers, John Durgin and John Thielke. More than a dozen contributors provide news articles, features, calendar items, humor and photos. It is financially supported by advertising. For more information about Richmond Beach Community Association, including electronic copies of the award-winning Richmond Beach Community News, visit their website.

Neighborhoods, USA (NUSA) is a national non-profit organization committed to building and strengthening neighborhood organizations. Each year the NUSA Board of Directors recognizes the commitment and work of neighborhoods presenting awards in several categories, such as the Neighborhood of the Year, Best Neighborhood Program, Who's Who in America's Neighborhoods, Social Revitalization, and Physical Revitalization. The "Neighborhood of the Year" award has been presented since 1984 as a collective “thank you” for the hard work by neighborhoods, and is the only national award given on an ongoing basis to neighborhood organizations for their self-help initiatives. For more information about the NUSA "Neighborhood Newsletter" award contact Robert Gibbons by phone at 608-886-7577 or via email.