Elgin Observer’s newspaper was announced as a recipient of multiple Pinnacle Awards presented by the The College Media Association and Pacemaker Awards presented by the Associated Collegiate Press. Winners were announced on Oct. 30 and Oct. 31 in Atlanta, Georgia, at the annual National College Media Convention.
The Elgin Observer as a whole received two awards- first place for a Pacemaker for The Observer website and third place for a Pinnacle for General News Email Newsletter. Out of four finalist community colleges in both categories, The Observer was nationally recognized for the efforts put into their digital news media.
Shayndel Valles, the group’s digital editor, got inspired to rebrand The Observer’s website back in March of 2023. The Observer won eighth place at the ACP’s Spring College Media Conference for their platform, and Valles was determined to redesign the web page to see a difference in their scoring.
“I remember turning to the team and saying that we would win first place for our website after our redesign,” Valles said. “I spent several weeks over the summer drafting the new logo and desktop website layout. I’m very grateful to have won this award and honored to work with such amazing people”.
Along with the group’s awards, two individual reporters from the 2022-2023 school year have received awards for their work. Previous Observer Editor, Hannah Soukup, received two honorable mentions for Reporter of the Year for a Pacemaker and one for a Pinnacle for her Column Writing piece- “My experience with sexual abuse: How I healed”. Soukup received an honorable mention out of four other community colleges in the two-year school category for her column piece and for her reporting.
“I am so grateful to have gotten an honorable mention for these awards,” Soukup said. “It’s mind-blowing to see that others find solace in my stories and I plan to continue writing successful stories to empower the community. I thank all of my former Observer staff for their help in bettering my writing and encouraging me to pursue this career path”.
Former Observer newspaper Editor-in-Chief Dom Di Palermo won first place for a Pinnacle Award for his profile on Dennis Biddle, in his sports feature titled “The man, who beat the man, who beat the man”. Di Palermo won first out of four other community colleges ranked as finalists in the two-year school division.
Adding on to the groups’ achievements, The Observer was awarded fourth place in the Illinois Community College Journalism Association (ICCJA) contest for their podcast. The podcast, Eye of the Observer, launched in April of 2023 and since then has produced episodes weekly. Podcast Director Vansh Patel initiated the launch of the podcast and shared his thoughts on the award.
“I’m proud of the podcast team,” Patel said. “I am so grateful for all of their efforts”.
Current Editor-in-Chief Matthew Brady spoke on behalf of the 2022-2023 Observer staff and current Observer staff in regard to the newly awarded achievements.
“I’m very excited that the Elgin Observer has been recognized for numerous awards,” Brady said. “I think that we definitely deserved it last year because we put in a lot of work. Our last Editor-in-Chief, Dominic Di Palermo, really pushed us”.
The Observer continues to produce news stories and podcast episodes, with new upcoming projects in the works. The group is currently compiling six cycles for the Fall 2023 semester. To keep up-to-date with ECC news and news-worthy stories, check your student mail as The Observer’s newsletter mails out to every student on campus each cycle.
