In this month's newsletter, we're celebrating big wins, big launches and big election coverage.
Let's get into it!
Village moves 🌟
We welcomed the following new people to our Village in February:
Village Media assistant desk editor Lucas Punkari
HaltonHillsToday & MiltonToday community partner specialist Roy Enman
TorontoToday deputy editor Cherise Seucharan
EloraFergusToday reporter Jessica Lovell
And we had two Village reporters make the move to serve new communities.
Welcome to SooToday, Greg McGrath-Goudie and to CambridgeToday, Keegan Kozolanka.
Good luck in your new roles 🎊
Village reporters take silver at national awards 🏆
Congratulations to Village Media reporters Alex Flood and Tyler Clarke for their outstanding achievements at this year's Canadian Online Publishing Awards! 🎉
Alex Flood secured Silver in the Best Daily News/Sports Coverage category for his compelling SooToday piece on NHL coach Paul Maurice, while Sudbury.com's Tyler Clarke clinched Silver in the Best Local Community News/Sports category for his in-depth coverage on the Greater Sudbury Police Service's secrecy.
Kudos to our exceptional team!
SPACES takes off 🚀
Our custom-built local social network is now in five Village communities!
Burlington, North Bay, Oakville and Sudbury now join pilot community Sault Ste, Marie, successfully launching their own local social networks to connect with neighbours over shared local interests.
Whether community members are looking to connect about local events, share their love of photography, show off their latest kitchen creation or are seeking where to find the latest local deals, there’s a space for that!
From the desk of our editor-in-chief ✍️
Doug Ford made sure our journalists were extra busy in February by calling a snap provincial election. Our local newsrooms, working in tandem with our Queen’s Park reporters at The Trillium, led the way in election coverage across the province — keeping voters informed about each local candidate and their long lists of promises.
The Ontario Votes page on each of our sites was a go-to source for reliable information throughout the campaign. A huge congratulations to our entire team!
In non-election news, Chris Dawson of BayToday wrote one of the most emotional stories of the month: A dying hockey fan’s final wish.
For years, Darren Simms was a fixture around North Bay hockey rinks, cheering for his hometown Trappers, Lakers and Battalion. But this season, amid failing health, he had been noticeably absent from the stands.
After being admitted to the Nipissing Serenity Hospice, the "self-proclaimed diehard fan" was given the gift of one last game. He was transported to the rink in a stretcher, and even read out the starting lineup. Darren died a few days later.
Chris was featured on Closer Look to share more about the story.
✨ Spotlight on sponsorships ✨
Our February sponsorships included:
CambridgeToday
Chamber of Commerce BA5
GuelphToday
Upper Credit Humane Society Valentine's Fundraiser
NewmarketToday
CMHA York South Simcoe - Push Up Challenge, PROBUS
SooToday
Bon Soo Winter Carnival, Wawa Ice Fishing Derby
Sudbury.com
Pro X Wrestling, Sudbury Performance Group
Pawesome Villager of the month 🐾
Meet Jasper!
Jasper is a friendly, 3-year-old Chocolate Labrador and Australian Shepherd mix. This photo was snapped during a hike at Grundy Lake Provincial Park. 🦴
Proud pet parent: Andrew Philips
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