The Valley Patriot newspaper has unveiled the nominees for the 2015 Valley Patriot Awards. Each Year the Valley Patriot gives awards at the annual BASH to members of the community and members of The Valley Patriot family. The winners will be announced on March 20th at the Firefighter’s Relief In (Get Tickets HERE)
VALLEY PATRIOT GOOD WILL AMBASSADOR AWARD
Once called the Honorable Mention Award, The Goodwill Ambassador Award is given to people who do not necessarily work for The Valley Patriot but promote the paper as our goodwiill ambassadors in the community, whether through the press, pitching in to volunteer to help one of The Valley Patriot’s many projects in some outstanding way.
PREVIOUS WINNERS:
(2013 ) Mike Grammont & Tracey Zysk
(2014) Rich Russel & Shawn Hansen
2015 Nominees:
John Bergeron
Jessica Finnocchiaro
John Macdonald
Clay Evans
Joyce and Gracemarie Tomaselli
VALLEY PATRIOT EDITORS CHOICE AWARD
Each year The Valley Patriot honors two Valley Patriot contributors for outstanding writing or taking the high road in public discourse while also taking very bold stands on some of the most important issues that shape our culture and our community. Columnists, reporters, and even letter writers are eligible for this award. Previous winners of this award have exposed corruption, called out elected officials for bad behavior, provided exceptional information to the public and/or attracted a whole new demographic of readers to the paper.
PREVIOUS WINNERS:
(2013) Joe D’Amore & Lonnie Brennan.
(2014) Paul Murano & Jeff Katz
2015 Nominees:
Bill Cushing (TV Talk)
Dani Langevin (Ye Gay Ol’ Valley)
Kathy Runge (Kathy’s Notebook)
John MacDonald (Lowell Columnist)
Christine Morabito (World Views)
Dr. Frank MacMillan (The Doctor is IN)
Anna Debernardo (Teen Talk)
VALLEY PATRIOT PRESIDENTS AWARD
Tonight we honor two members of The Valley Patriot family with The Valley Patriot President’s Award. Nominees and winners were chosen personally by Valley Patriot Publisher Tom Duggan. Nominees of this award were chosen for their unique and/or outstanding contribution in the operations of the paper. Previous winners have helped us get the paper to the printer in emergency situtions so that we don’t miss a deadline, gone out in snowstorms to shovel out our street boxes, promoted us to local businesses for advertising, or provided exceptional material to the paper that nobody else could contribute.
PREVIOUS WINNERS:
(2013) Christine Morabito & Dan Selenius
(2014) Dave Sullivan & Dani Langevin
2015 Nominees:
Christine Morabito
Margaret Crow
Dr. Bharani Padmanabhan
Alex Talcott
Mike Gagliardi
John Macdonald
*VALLEY PATRIOT 1ST AMENDMENT PUBLIC SERVICE AWARD
Each year this award is given to 2 individuals who show with their actions that they value the 1st Amendment to the Constitution. Winner of this award have made a significant difference in holding public officials accountable, fought for transparency in government and gone above and beyond the call of duty to defend and protect our right of free speech, a free press, freedom of religion and/or being a whistle-blower. They are or have taken ACTION, bold action, to make sure the public is more informed about what their government leaders and representatives are up to. Without individuals like this on the front lines in the war against a free speech and a free press our freedoms could be lost.
PREVIOUS WINNERS:
(2014) Auditor Suzanne Bump & Senator Katy Ives
2015 Nominees:
Rep. Diana DiZoglio
Richard D’Agostino
Tracy Watson
Rep. Jim Lyons
Michael Sweeney
Colonel Sam Poulten
Bill Manzi
Kathy Runge
VALLEY PATRIOT
HERO VETERAN AWARD
Because honoring Veterans is so much a part of what we do at The Valley Patriot, tonight we honor two people who themselves honor our hero service men and women here at home. Honoring our veterans and recognizing their incredible sacrifices is one of the most important things we do at The Valley Patriot. Tonight we honor two veterans who not only served their country overseas but continued to serve their country when they came home. Whether it is public service, volunteering in the community or helping other veterans here at home, tonight’s recipients are men who embody what service and sacrifice are all about.
PREVIOUS WINNERS:
(2013) David Swarbrick, John Lenottee
Helen Mooradkanian
(2014) Francisco Urena, Tom Fallon.
2015 Nominees:
Bruce Arnold
John Ratka
Eric Nelson
John MacDonald
OFFICER TOM DUGGAN SR. LAW ENFORCEMENT AWARD
On March 16, 1990, Lawrence Police Officer Tom Duggan Sr. lost his life in the line of duty. He was a man who loved being a police officer and lived his life responding to cries for help in the community. While he worked on many major cases and high profile crimes, he always said that it was the day to day work he did on and off duty to help people in small ways that really made his job worth doing. This year we honor his service and sacrifice with “The Valley Patriot, Officer Tom Duggan Sr., Law Enforcement Award.” The award is given to members of public safety (police or fire) and/or 1 civilians who honors the service and personal sacrifice police officers and firefighters make every day. Officer Duggan believed that those little extra things we do in life to help others … make the biggest differences in people’s lives at the end of the day and makes the world around us a better place.
PREVIOUS WINNERS:
(2013): Scott Emerson & Methuen Police Officer Dan O’Connell
(2014) Amesbury Police Officer Jason Kooken & Lawrence Firefighter Manny Gonzalez
2015 Nominees:
TBA