If you’ve been following along, then you know we’ve been killing it in the Grange Media Award category.
Not only did former editor Keith Testa earn an honor last spring from the Concord Grange, as a newspaper we took home first place for the New Hampshire Grange (October) and the Northeast Grange (January). Life is good in Insider land.
Then we got an email about a month ago from Concord Grange Master Dick Patten about the 40th annual Community Recognition Awards and Grange Membership Honors night. He suggested we send a representative. There was more good news.
Another award? Lucky us. So Jon won the rock, paper, scissors battle as to who got to attend, and went last Monday to receive our latest honor.
He walked up to the podium, got the award and walked back to his seat. No speech necessary.
Then he noticed something: Who is Tim Griffin? Under Media Award and The Insider read Tim Griffin, Editor. Then all kinds of things ran through his head. Is there another Insider with an editor named Tim Griffin that really won this award? Should we give it back? Was this some sort of cruel joke to inform us of our replacement?
Nope, none of the above. Turns out it was just an honest mistake and one perfect for the Insider, now winner of four Grange awards in the last calendar year. We’ll enjoy this one just as much the others.
But we weren’t the only ones to take home hardware. There’s a long list so what we’ll do is start it here and the rest can be seen on our website at theconcordinsider.com.
Gene Connolly, Citizen of the Year; Apple Hill Farm, Concord Farm of the Year; Keith Richardson (Concord Fire), Firefighter of the Year; Cole Gardens, Agriculture Award for its Winter Farmers’ Market; Christopher Hilstro (Concord City Code Enforcement), Public Servant of the Year; Michael Dempsey, Veteran of the Year; Joshua Hardy (ConcordTV), Youth Award.
Det. Robert Buelte, the Law Enforcement Officer of the Year; WLNH’s Nazzy, Entertainer of the Year; Todd Larocque (Carter Hill Orchard), Young Farmer of the Year; James Audet (Concord Knights of Columbus), Community Spirit Award for his involvement with the Christmas Creche; Chris Brown, Community Spirit Award for his involvement with the Black Ice Hockey Tournament; N.H. State Police Officer Mark Barret, State Police Award for the Troop D region; Clara Brogan, Lifetime Achievement Award; Jim Rivers was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award along with Jim Jeannotte; Michael Geary, Lifetime Veteran Achievement Award; Tony Schinella (Concord Patch), Online Media Award; Kira Wood, Youth Award for her involvement in the Concord Civil Air Patrol; Dennis Gaudette (Tilton Autoserv), Business of the Year; Concord Imaging Center, Outstanding Community Award.
