It’s wonderful to be in May, one of the most beautiful months of the year! ☀️
From new partnerships and events to industry awards, there's a lot to cover in this month’s newsletter.
As always, our aim with this monthly update is to keep everyone informed and engaged with what's happening in our Village. We want to celebrate our successes, share important developments and recognize the hard work and achievements of our team members.
We also want to thank all of you for your dedication and contributions to Village Media’s success. Your hard work and commitment are what make us a standout in our industry and we are grateful to have you as part of our team.
So without further ado, let's dive into our May newsletter and see what's been happening in our Village!
What's new?
A warm welcome 👋
Say hi to the new team members who joined us in April, including:
BurlingtonToday reporter Julie Slack
The Trillium senior account executive Linsey Raschkowan
Village Media data journalist Patrick Cain
We are excited to have you on the team!
A new partnership leads to a LOT of growth for the Village Network 📱
We are thrilled to announce our latest partnership with Black Press Media.
The partnership with Black Press, a renowned publishing company with a strong presence in both Canada and the US, will enhance the delivery of local news in over 120 communities as they move their sites to our Villager platform.
The collaboration significantly increases the scale of the entire Canadian network, which is now able to execute national advertising campaigns, sponsored content and conduct market research, while paving the way for new models of sustainable local news operations.
Once the migration of the Black Press sites is complete, we will have 150 Canadian and 50 US sites operating on our platform, making us one of the largest Canadian local news networks on a common platform.
First Community Builders Awards in Orillia a hit with the community!
Months of planning and coordination certainly paid off for our inaugural OrilliaMatters Community Builders Awards.
It was a room full of appreciation, positivity and vision at the awards reception, which celebrates the extraordinary individuals and organizations making significant contributions to Orillia.
The community came together to support the awards in a big way - from submitting nominations to helping judge the nomination packages to generously sponsoring the awards.
Our team also came together to ensure the first year was a success. A sincere thank you to the crew of Villagers whose terrific work helped make the event a hit!
To watch the winners’ video features as they roll out on OrilliaMatters, visit our CBA section.
Charlie Pinkerton and Jessica Smith Cross receive well-deserved recognition from World Press Freedom Canada 🌟
To commemorate UNESCO's World Press Freedom Day each May, World Press Freedom Canada (WPFC) honours the recipients of its Press Freedom Awards.
World Press Freedom Day celebrates the fundamental principles of press freedom, evaluates press freedom around the world and defends the media from attacks on their independence.
At this year’s World Press Freedom Day Luncheon, The Trillium's Charlie Pinkerton was awarded a Certificate of Merit for his work. Charlie broke the story of Greenbelt developers attending the wedding party of Ontario Premier Doug Ford's daughter. He resigned from his job at QP Briefing, which is owned by iPolitics, over interference. The Toronto Star subsequently published the story.
WPFC also commends former QP Briefing editor (and current Trillium editor-in-chief) Jessica Smith Cross who also resigned over the interference.
Congratulations, Charlie and Jessica! This is a well-deserved acknowledgment of your meaningful work.👏
Villagers honoured at annual Better Newspaper Competition 🎊
A big congratulations to our Voice of Pelham/PelhamToday team for winning big at this year's Ontario Community Newspaper Association’s Better Newspapers Competition!
They took home two gold, two silver and one bronze award at the annual awards program. The wins include a first-place finish for editor Dave Burket for Best Editorial and Feature Writing (the latter of which is shared with reporter Don Rickers and former Pelham Herald/Voice editor Carolyn Mullin).
At the same awards, two of our own were inducted into the Ontario Community Newspaper Association’s Hall of Fame.
The Hall of Fame recognizes and celebrates individuals who have made exemplary contributions to Ontario’s community newspapers.
Congratulations to Abbas Homayed and Village board member Michael Atkins on this honour.
✨ Spotlight on sponsorships ✨
April showers didn’t slow down the community events we sponsored last month, including:
BarrieToday
Youth Haven Shelter, Angus Pop-Up Market, Events by Morey Made
BayToday
Clean Green Beautiful North Bay, Global Tourism Film Festival
BroomfieldLeader
Colorado Tartan Day Festival
BurlingtonToday
Rotary Club of Burlington North
CambridgeToday
Cystic Fibrosis Canada Gala fundraiser
CollingwoodToday
Collingwood Skating Club
ElliotLakeToday
Global Tourism Film Festival
LongmontLeader
Friend of Front Range Community College/community partner
MidlandToday
The Guesthouse Shelter, Georgian Bay Cancer Support Centre
NewmarketToday
Women and Children's Centre of York Region
PelhamToday
Rotary Club of Fonthill
SooToday
Global Tourism Film Festival, One Stop Christmas Show Spring Fling, Northland Chorus Barbershop Annual Show
Sudbury.com
Global Tourism Film Festival, Sudbury Home & Lifestyle Show
TimminsToday
Global Tourism Film Festival
ICYMI: Spreading kindness in Bradford and Guelph
Our teams were busy planning surprises for deserving community members last month, with two new Random Acts of Kindness features hitting our sites in April.
If you haven’t yet, read about our surprise of two stellar high school basketball coaches in Bradford and a special birthday delivery for a thoughtful caregiver in Guelph.
Take a look at our current opportunities 📣
We have nine open job postings to peruse 👀
Pawesome Villager of the month 🐾
Meet Reese! 🐶 He’s a ten-year-old chocolate lab named after his mom’s favourite treat. 🤗 Not only can he rock a pair of bunny ears, but he also has the uncanny ability to seek out the ONLY mud puddle in an entire forest! 🐾
(Proud pet-parent: Nikki Cole)
We'll see you again in June!
