NEDERLAND - Today I sit at the Nederland office, working on some ideas for 2025, thinking about our accomplishments in 2024 as a TEAM.
The year started off with a lot of enthusiasm for new projects and to continue projects already going. We determined we would keep the podcast going, but change it up a bit. We decided not to publish Taste of the Peaks as a separate publication, but to wrap it into our Peak to Peak Visitor’s Guide. We worked toward our second annual Peak to Peak Studio Tour guide. All were completed and circulated, as planned.
The newspaper had a lot of changes in 2024. We had a few staff members leave and several new ones came in. We had interns graduate and some left, some are still with us.
Publisher
Mountain Vale Media, llc
Managing Editor
Barbara Hardt
Editing
Lynn Hirshman
Sara Sandstrom
Administrative Assistant
Brittney Wagner
Advertising/ Marketing
Bethany Haas
Amanda Macdonald
Bookkeeping
Terri Vernon
Circulation
Tim Dillon
Yuliya Savich
Amanda Macdonald
Brittney Wagner
Graphic Design - Newspaper
Jessica LaFone
Graphic Design - Special Sections
David Sockrider
Journalists
Omayra Acevedo
Brian Alers
James DeWalt
Eliza DuBose
Dave Gibson
Curt Halsted
Hayden Hardt-Zeman
Wes Isenhart
Alexander Joseph
Christopher Kelley
Jamie Lammers
Mindy Leary
Patrice LeBlanc
John MacKay
Polina Savich
Anne Scarffe
John Scarffe
Columnists
Karen Anderson
Doug Armitage
Denise Boehler
Richard Brandon
Mark Cohen
Lorena DeSanta
Frank Sanders
Amy Skinner
Interns
Annika Marschke
Jiselle Osteboe
Mason Novak
Clementine Miller
We launched a new billing system and slowly converted our Quickbooks over to the new system. The new system is a bit of a bear, but we are slowly getting there with it.
We launched a whole new website. It’s going great. We have had over 38,000 active users since launching in October.
The Mountain-Ear was also honored with 21 awards this year from the Colorado Press Association. That’s a recognition shared by no other paper in western Boulder County or Gilpin County. We strive for excellence and this year, we truly went above and beyond to give our readers Award Winning Journalism.
Innovation: Christian Vanek
This award recognizes an individual or group that has significantly improved its business model in multiple areas to reflect changes in audience, revenue stream, content dissemination, and other applicable areas of change within the industry.
2023 was the year Christian purchased The Mountain-Ear. Thanks to his contributions, a team was formed that would carry the tenets of community journalism forward with integrity and love for the communities that they serve.
General Excellence: The Mountain-Ear
Excellence in mixed media/other: The Mountain-Ear
College: Best News Story, 1st place - Jessica Boehner
"DYAO and collaborators inspire an audience"
College: Best News Story, 2nd place - Amanda Godfrey
"Tea time and teddy bears at the Gillaspie House Museum"
Best Arts & Entertainment Column, 1st place - Dave Gibson
"A new era: Cirque du Soleil's Kooza"
Best Arts & Entertainment Column, 2nd place - Sara Sandstrom
"NMSHS theater dances their way to Footloose"
Best Crime & Public Safety Reporting, 1st place - Omayra Acevedo
"Human trafficking and domestic violence in plain sight"
Best Education Story, 1st place - Sara Sandstrom
"Mentorship Program takes off in Ned schools"
Best Humorous Column Writing, 1st place - Mark Cohen
"Diversions: Replace FDGD with FDQD"
Best Humorous Column Writing, 2nd place - Doug Armitage
Best Opinion Writing, 2nd place - Christopher Kelley
"Do androids dream of bureaucratic permanence?"
Best Public Service Project, 2nd place - Denise Boehler
"Pet of the Week and animal stories"
Best Serious Column Writing - John MacKay
"Mountain Folk Tales: Why are we here?"
Best Feature Photograph, 1st place - Omayra Acevedo
"Honoring Madam Lou Bunch: 49 years and counting"
Best page design, 2nd place - Barbara Hardt
"Getting the feeling at Blossoms of Light"
Best Photography Portfolio, 1st place - Dave Gibson
Best Photography Portfolio, 2nd place - Omayra Acevedo
Best Sports Photograph, 1st place - Dave Gibson
Other/Mixed Media, 1st place - Cynthia Davis, Dango Rose, Jamie Lammers, Maryann Rosen
The Mountain-Ear Podcast: “COTREX App explained,” “Sugarloaf FD Garage Sale,” “Donna the Buffalo”...
Other/Mixed Media, 2nd place - Cynthia Davis, Dango Rose, Jamie Lammers, Maryann Rosen
The Mountain-Ear Podcast: “Memoirs of an Intern, part one of three”; Indigenous tribes of Colorado”…
That year brought big changes to how the newspaper is conceptualized, written, designed, and printed, and this year’s CPA awards honored all of that hard work.
In 2023, The Mountain-Ear delivered excellence in mixed media, thanks to the team’s efforts on our podcast, our website, and our special publications.
Overall, the team was recognized for delivering the best arts and entertainment stories, the best education stories, best humor columns, best serious columns, best opinion articles, best public service articles, best stories from college interns, and best photography.
All of this was the result of a team dedicated to an innovative vision: to embrace the future while remaining true to the foundations that The Mountain-Ear was built on.
The Mountain-Ear is OUR community source for news, each of us, together. To reach us anytime, call 303-810-5409 or email info@themountainear.com.
