First Place — Two Years in a Row! — Townships Sun Wins “Best Quebec Community Newspaper Promotion” QCNA Award, June 13, 2025, Montebello, Quebec

There’s no doubt about it: The Townships Sun continues to punch above its weight. For the second year in a row, the Quebec Community Newspapers Association (QCNA) has awarded us First Place for “Best Community Newspaper Promotion” — a meaningful recognition that puts wind in the sails of our all-volunteer team.

Even better? We discovered we have a groupie: Lily Ryan, publisher of The Pontiac Journal, Aylmer Bulletin, Gatineau Bulletin, and West Quebec Post, made a point of telling us — twice — how much she and her team look forward to reading the Townships Sun. A Western Quebec/Eastern Townships connection? How cool is that?!

A Judge’s Words We’ll Treasure

We are especially grateful to QCNA and to award judge Ryan McDonald, senior editor at The Globe and Mail, for his generous and thoughtful words:

The Townships Sun has produced an incredible, community-focused, volunteer-driven historical record of five decades of Quebecers in the Eastern Townships. It’s a vital and entertaining trip through a controversial period in Quebec history. The publication’s goal — to unify English and French speakers — is more needed than ever.

We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.

A Powerful Evening in an Historic Setting

The QCNA Awards evening followed a full day of thought-provoking conference sessions. Twenty-six member publications gathered to celebrate the role of community newspapers in bringing timely, relevant stories to light — especially as mainstream media continues to retreat.

QCNA President Brenda O’Farrell laid out the increasingly essential role of community media when she said:

Community newspapers are emerging as the last journalistic soldiers standing. They’re not just filling the gap — these publications are the whole fabric of local news.

The historic Château Montebello provided a memorable backdrop. Representing the Townships Sun were board member and treasurer Myrthe Langefeld (Melbourne) and arts editor Marie Moliner (North Hatley). Conference sessions covered pressing topics such as defamation and copyright (Gordon Cameron, Ontario Community News Association –OCNA), journalism ethics and truth-telling (Pierre-Paul Noreau, Quebec Press Council), and a wildly entertaining workshop on “Headlines and Leads” by Peter Cooney, formerly of Concordia University.

In Good Company: A Showcase of Community Innovation

A “show and tell” segment allowed members to present innovative outreach and promotional ideas. Though we didn’t win this portion — kudos to Nunatsiaq News for their stunning youth journalism project covering the 500-km dog sled race from Pond Inlet to Igloolik —we were proud to present our Townships Young Voices initiative, Travelling Photo Exhibit, and Bernard Epps Adventures of the Eastern Townships books as well as our sustained subscription-drive. These efforts were lauded by the Sherbrooke Record’s Sharon McCully who commented on how difficult it is to retain, much less, increase subscriptions these days).

Other inspiring ideas from local Anglophone Quebec community newspapers included:

• Trivia Night to attract new readers (The Low Down to Hull and Back)

• Photo matching games and a live-streamed election debate (The Equity)

• Musical fundraiser and bilingual municipal inserts (The Gleaner)

• “Best of Montreal” campaign that raised $170,000 in advertising (The Suburban)

• “Best of Aylmer” promotional campaign featuring stickers and certificates, and a local “Hall of Fame” (Aylmer Bulletin)

We’re taking notes—and hope to borrow and adapt many of these excellent ideas!

Celebrating Our Peers

We warmly congratulate the second and third place award winners in the Best Community Promotion category:

• Second Place: The Low Down to Hull and Back, for its collaborative youth journalism project with Carleton University.

• Third Place: Nunatsiaq News, for its extraordinary planning and partnerships that resulted in powerful community storytelling.

Honouring Our Team and Our Supporters

We remain proud of our mission to connect, preserve, and celebrate stories that matter — especially those of English-speaking communities in the Eastern Townships. A heartfelt thank you goes to the Townships Sun team: Rachel Garber, Xania Keane, John Mackley, Melanie Cutting, and Marie Moliner, whose dedication and creativity helped make our 50th Anniversary Legacy Edition a success (Google BAnQ Townships Sun).

We also thank our loyal readers, subscribers, partners, and contributors. We do this for — and with — you.

About the QCNA

Now in its 45th year, the Quebec Community Newspapers Association (QCNA) supports the professional and economic development of English-language and bilingual newspapers serving minority communities across Quebec.

• 25 full members + 6 affiliate members

• 384,000 print readers (not including online audiences!)

• 52 per cent of readers engage with both print and digital content

• English-speaking Quebecers represent 13.7 per cent of the province’s population

• More than 65 community newspapers are supported by the Quebec Ministry of Culture and Communications and only 3 serve the English-speaking Quebec community. (QCNA website)

These newspapers focus on relevant local news and maintain high editorial-to-advertising ratios — earning deep trust in their communities. We’re proud to be part of this increasingly resilient, essential local media ecosystem — and even prouder to have been recognized once again. Here’s to another year of storytelling, connection, and community! If you love us, please subscribe and encourage your friends and family to do so too: