Voket Joins Press Association Board, Receives Agricultural Award

BOSTON — The New England Newspaper and Press Association (NENPA) elected John Voket, associate editor of The Newtown Bee, to its board of directors at its annual meeting on February 12 at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel.

NENPA is New England’s regional professional trade organization for newspapers; its membership includes more than 450 publications across six states.

“I’m really pleased to be able to work with the NENPA leadership and all its member publications in this new capacity, after representing The Bee at the association’s annual conferences for five years as an attendee,” Mr Voket said. “I’m looking forward to sharing a lot of what I’ve learned here at The Bee in terms of best practices, as well as bringing new ideas back home to enhance our information delivery and our value to readers and residents of Newtown.”

Mr Voket has been a reporter, photographer, page designer, and editor for a number of newspapers in Connecticut, including the Hometown Publications chain of weeklies, the twice-weekly Naugatuck News and the daily Waterbury Republican-American.

He is also a veteran radio personality and a musician. In addition to his role at The Newtown Bee, Mr Voket serves as director of public affairs for Cox Media Group and hosts a weekly syndicated public affairs program on WPLR and STAR 99.9-FM.

State Farming Coalition Award

Mr Voket was also honored recently by Connecticut’s Commissioner of Agriculture and more than 30 Connecticut agricultural organizations when he was named a Connecticut Agricultural Journalist of the Year.

The awards are given annually by the nonprofit Connecticut Agriculture & Natural Resources Association (CANRA), a coalition of state farming groups, as part of the festivities surrounding Connecticut Agriculture Day at the state capitol. This is the second time Mr Voket has received this recognition.

The awards, which were announced on March 16, recognize excellence in reporting on agricultural issues published or broadcast in the state during the calendar year 2010. Mr Voket was recognized for a series of eight radio broadcasts, each covering a different agricultural topic.

One of the programs focusing on how farmers have diversified to survive featured the Paproski family who operates Newtown’s Castle Hill Farm. Another segment on the value of Connecticut agricultural industries to the state’s economy featured the Botsford-based CT Greenhouse Growers Association.