HR0685 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0685 LRB096 15095 GRL 30124 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are pleased to congratulate Jane Newton on the occasion of winning first place in community service at the National Newspaper Association 2009 Better Newspaper Contest for her "Hola!" special section of the Galena Gazette; and

WHEREAS, Jane Newton is a 21-year-old college student; she attends Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan, where she is majoring in public relations with a minor in Latin American studies; during college, she spent a semester studying in Mexico, Peru, and Argentine and lived in Mexico for a year as a Rotary exchange student in 2006-2007; and

WHEREAS, Jane Newton is the daughter of P. Carter and Sarah Newton, the publishers of the Galena Gazette; she grew up in the family business and has worked in every single department at the newspaper; and

WHEREAS, Due to its ample employment opportunities, the City of Galena has attracted many Spanish-speaking people; in response to the growth of the Hispanic population, the Gazette staff debated how best to serve this segment of the population; this proved difficult, due to the lack of Spanish speakers on staff; Ms. Newton, after her first year of college, arranged a school-sponsored internship at The Gazette with the purpose of working on a project which helped tell the story of Galena's Spanish speaking population; the project, titled "Hola", became a 24-page special section in English and Spanish; in a display of great initiative, she conducted all the interviews, wrote almost all the stories, took all the photos, sold all the ads, and assembled all the pages; and

WHEREAS, "Hola" received rave reviews from the community and helped to create a better understanding of Galena's sizable Hispanic community; in addition to the first place award from the National Newspaper Association, the project has also won four first-place awards in Illinois Press Association news-editorial and advertising-marketing contests; and

WHEREAS, Jane Newton’s hard work and willingness to promote understanding between different cultures makes her a role model for the people of the State of Illinois; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Jane Newton on the occasion of winning first place in community service at the National Newspaper Association 2009 Better Newspaper Contest and wish her continued success and happiness in the future; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Jane Newton as a symbol of our esteem and respect.