The Mayor of Ashcroft and the editor at the Ashcroft-Cache Creek Journal have been awarded a handful of Canadian Community Newspaper Awards for 2020 and 2021.

Barbara Roden says she was quite pleased to find out that she received  five awards for articles she wrote over those two years.

One of the five awards Roden received during the two years, included a first-place honour for her story “Amid the devastation in Lytton, some glimmers of hope remain.”

“The article I wrote in the aftermath of the Lytton wildfire in June of 2021, actually won first place, Canada-wide, Best Feature News Story for newspapers with a circulation of up to 4,000 readers.”

She suggests finding out she received first place across Canada surreal feeling.

“To see that one of my articles, particularly one about Lytton, which was very close to my heart, received the top honour for all of Canada was a huge honour. I am very proud that piece, in particular, came in for some notice.”

Four other articles by Roden earned second and third-place titles, including a second place for Best Historical Story with a circulation under 10,000 readers in 2021, for her article which dove into the history of Lytton.

In 2020 she received both second and third place in the 2020 Best News Story category, with a circulation of up to 9,999 readers as well as a third-place finish in the Best Feature Story category with a circulation of up to 3,999 readers.

The awards announced on November 14, were judged by a panel of industry experts who work to celebrate the best in community publishing across Canada, with newspapers of similar circulation size competing against each other.