Staff members of The Morgan Messenger newspaper were awarded First Place for General Excellence for large weekly newspapers in West Virginia at the annual West Virginia Press Association’s convention and awards ceremony held last Saturday, October 17 at the University of Charleston.
General Excellence awards are given to papers who have shown outstanding work in news coverage, editorials, in-depth or investigative reporting, feature writing, sports reporting, columnist work and newspaper design during the previous year.
The Morgan Messenger competes in Division 3 and was chosen as the top newspaper in that category.
Still owned by the Buzzerd family that founded the weekly paper in November of 1893, The Messenger is one of very few independently-owned newspapers still publishing regularly in West Virginia. Published on 51 Wednesdays of the year, the Messenger has roughly 4,000 subscribers, with both print and digital readers.
“We have an outstanding team that has stayed dedicated to our weekly mission to produce a paper that reflects our whole community,” said Editor Kate Shunney. “That’s increasingly valuable to protect common ground among neighbors of all perspectives and experiences and our staff does that with skill and style.”
The Morgan Messenger staff includes Flip Henry, Rebecca Cain, Cheyenne McCumbee, Bev Buzzerd, Jamie Harris, Geoff Fox, Lisa Schauer, Patty Riggleman and Morgan Buzzerd. Jody Crouse is the Managing Editor. Todd Buzzerd is the owner and publisher.
During the annual convention, Messenger staff was recognized in a variety of categories of work produced in 2025.
Managing Editor and Advertising Director Jody Crouse won First Place awards for:
— Best Color Ad of a Quarter Page or Less
— Best Online Advertising Campaign
— Best Newspaper Promotional Campaign.
Crouse also won Second Place for Best Newspaper Promotional Campaign.
The Messenger staff won First Place awards for:
— Best Editorial Page
— Best Special Section
— Best Headline Writing
— Best Single Issue
— Best Newspaper Design.
Staff also won Second Place for Best Special Section and Best Single Issue.
Former Messenger staff reporter Trish Rudder won First Place for Best Lifestyle Feature for her story about a Great Cacapon man’s father who carried a pencil with him during the duration of the Korean War.
Messenger reporter Lisa Schauer won Third Place for Best Lifestyle Feature for her story about the Civil War history of an Unger property known as Camp Mud.
Food and nutrition columnist Stacy Schultz won Third Place for Best Lifestyle Columnist for her “It’s Stacy—Health Eats” column featuring recipes and family stories.
Contributing photographer Betsy Hovermale won a First and Second Place for Best Sports Photography for her wrestling photos.
Lisa Schauer won First Place for Best Photo Essay for her collection of pictures from Paw Paw’s Memorial Day parade.
Contributing photographer Zachary Sipe won First Place for Best News Photography for his photos of the Coolfont fire.
Sports writer Jamie Harris won Third Place for Best Sports Event Reporting for Berkeley Springs High School football coverage.
Editor Kate Shunney won Second Place for Best Coverage of Breaking News, First Place for Best In-depth or Investigative Reporting about potential plans to extend rail service towards Hancock, Second and Third Place for Best Governmental Affairs Reporting and Third Place for Best Legal Affairs Reporting.
She won Second and Third Place for Best Sports News and Feature Reporting for stories about a Largent shooter competing for the USA and the high school’s e-sports team, plus First, Second and Third Place for Best Editorial. Winning editorials included a tribute to the community spirit behind the 50th Apple Butter Festival and a call for renewed civility in political life.
This year’s press entries were judged by the Minnesota Press Association, whose editorial members chose West Virginia’s winning entries.
During the annual convention, the Charleston Gazette-Mail was named the Newspaper of the Year.
