The Great Bend Tribune advertising team earned two first-place awards in the 2022 Awards of Excellence contest sponsored by the Kansas Press Association.
The Tribune competed in Division VI, for newspapers with a circulation of 3,501 to 5,600. However, advertising contest categories combined Divisions IV, V, VI and VII, which include the largest newspapers in the state.
The Tribune won first place in the following categories:
• Best Special Section - Advertising; Tammy Mason, Karma Byers and Hugo Gonzalez took the first-place award for the Kansas Oil & Gas Hall of Fame Inductees 2021 section.
The Kansas Oil & Gas Hall of Fame section was a full-color magazine that contained biographies of the 11 Hall of Fame inductees. It was inserted in the Great Bend Tribune and was also presented to everyone who attended the Kansas Oil & Gas Hall Museum Foundation’s 2021 Hall of Fame induction ceremony and banquet.
• Hugo Gonzalez won first place for Best Online Ad (Static). This was a promotion for the City of Great Bend’s Fourth of July Fireworks show.
Hugo Gonzales also won Best Graphic Designer, an award category in which all divisions were combined. His work is featured prominently in both news and advertising content.
Encompassing work by the entire advertising staff, along with Publisher Judy Duryee, the Tribune ad staff also won three second-place awards and five third-place awards.
Second-place awards:
• Most Adaptable Promotion - “Shop Local,” by Judy Duryee, Tammy Mason and Karma Byers
• Best Agricultural Ad - “BTI Big to Small,” by Tammy Mason and Karma Byers
• Best Online Ad (Static) - DANCEOGRAPHY - 2021 General, by Hugo Gonzalez
Third-place awards:
• Most Adaptable Promotion - Home Services Guide, by Tammy Mason, Karma Byers and Daniel Kiewel
• Best Online Ad (Static) - Star of Hope, “Thank You for Lunch,” by Hugo Gonzalez
• Best Fashion Ad - “Dress it up,” by Judy Duryee and Karma Byers
• Best Online Ad (Motion) - 2021 Spring Sports Preview - video, by Hugo Gonzalez and Tammy Mason
• Best Online Promotion - “Letters to Santa 2021,” by staff
The Kansas Press Association’s 2022 Awards of Excellence (AOE) Celebration and Learning Event will take place June 9-10 at Newton.
“Having promoted Great Bend’s business community since 1876, we understand the need needs of our advertisers,” Duryee said. “We are more than an advertising platform. We are a partner and consultant, and our sales team keenly understands this relationship.”
Over the decades, the Tribune has remained progressive. “The media world had changed in 145 years. We recognize that and now offer a wide variety of print and digital options for our customers,” she said.
The awards the newspaper earned demonstrate this diversity, she said, noting the Tribune was honored for ads that served clients in all formats.
“We recognize that one size doesn’t fit all,” Duryee said. “We are flexible and can accommodate the many demands and needs of our business partners.”
