At the 2014 Conference of Community Newspapers Victoria (CNAV), Ferntree Gully News won the Annual Award for Best Story by Someone under 18.

The ‘someone’ was Jessica Riordan, a Year 10 student from Monbulk College who came to our newspaper office for work experience in June. Her story was about a forthcoming visit to Nepal with fellow students.

Our paper was also one of the two runners-up in the Award for Best Paper Overall and in the Award for Best Design and Layout. I had the pleasure of being at the conference, held this year in Caroline Springs, and I found the whole day extremely interesting – an eye-opener for a person new to the newspaper industry.

Don Watson (the well-known author) was guest speaker and kept us amused with many stories. Look out for his new book The Bush. For the rest of the day we attended workshops full of tips on gathering content, building contacts, managing archives
and other relevant topics. In the evening came the ‘formal’ dinner and eagerly awaited Awards.

The theme of the Conference was ‘Open to Change’. Here are some quotes I noted:
•  Life is change, growth is optional; choose wisely
•  Those who look only to the past and the present are certain to miss the future
•  Change is difficult – not changing is fatal
•  Everybody wants to change the world but nobody wants to change.

Sunday was a bit different as we were invited to look over the new shop premises of the Gisborne Gazette. (They are a few years ahead of Gully News in this, but maybe who knows, one day?)
If you ever have the chance to attend a similar conference do not hesitate to accept.

Mary Trinnie
Volunteer, Office Admin, Ferntree Gully News