The New England Newspaper and Press Association (NENPA) recently inducted Suzanne Gillis, publisher of Vermont Woman Newspaper, into the New England Newspaper Hall of Fame – the only woman from Vermont ever inducted and the twelfth woman out of 80 inductees.
Gillis is the founding publisher of four newspapers: Vermont Woman Newspaper 1985; Vermont Times 1990; Provincetown (MA) Banner 1995; and the second incarnation of Vermont Woman Newspaper 2003.
NENPA noted that “Gillis is committed to championing independently-owned print media. Her award-winning newspaper Vermont Woman makes a valuable contribution to public discourse by providing a forum for the voices and perspectives of women.”
Both the Provincetown Banner and Vermont Woman are recipients of the Newspaper of the Year awards – the highest honor bestowed by the industry; the Banner for 1996 and Vermont Woman for 2007, 2008. Vermont Woman was also top winner for General Excellence and was voted “Distinguished Newspaper of the Year” for 2009. In addition, Vermont Woman placed third for General Excellence in 2009 by the Vermont Press Association, competing with 38 weekly newspapers in Vermont.
The NENPA Annual Awards Luncheon was held on October 21, 2010 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Natick, Massachusetts. The event was attended by publishers of many of New England’s daily, weekly, and monthly newspapers. The judges, who are from the industry and live and work outside of New England, choose the best from about 3,000 entries. The awards are the equivalent to the Oscars in the newspaper business and therefore vigorously sought after.
On receiving her award, Gillis said “The Hall of Fame induction recognizes achievement for a body of work – not just for myself, but for all the women who have been a part of producing these papers: editors, designers, writers and photographers, and our founders, who through their generosity helped bring the papers to life. I am personally honored and humbled by this peer recognition for my life’s work and I am particularly proud of the awards for excellence for Vermont Woman.”