Mountain Home has been a member of IRMA, the International Regional Media Association, for over a decade. But this June was the first time I attended one of their annual conferences. In Charlotte, my MH sidekick, associate editor and publisher Lilace Mellin Guignard, and I were hanging with the big dogs, an illustrious group that includes magazines like Oklahoma Today, Arizona Highways, Texas Highways (these are particularly big-budgeted and state-funded). Magazines gorgeous to hold and behold. Heavyweights of the industry. (As opposed to our fulltime staff of four.) And you know what? I’ll take those odds. Because what we have here in Mountain Home country is passion for storytelling, and talent for writing and photography—all as timeless as the hills themselves.

And that faith was rewarded.

Maggie Barnes, who I expect to win something every time we enter her name, outdid herself, winning an IRMA gold in the column category for her Glory Hill Diaries. The judges understood why we love her so much, one of them saying her columns were “absolutely delightful and I found myself doing something I rarely do when reading: laughing out loud. It is a joy to read these columns that have a lyric grace and electricity all their own while delivering insights into the human spirit and soul.” That wasn’t the end of it for Maggie this year: A few weeks later, when the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association announced their awards, Maggie won a second-place Keystone for those columns, and an honorable mention for her December cover, “It’s a Wonderful Story,” about the Wyalusing man who is responsible for one of the most beloved Christmas movies ever filmed.

But the IRMAs weren’t done with us yet.

When they announced the awards for profile stories, my oh-so-talented sidekick Lilace took the silver for “Torch Singer.” Sometimes everything goes wrong for something better to fall into place, and that was what happened for the story of firefighter-turned-crooner Chris Eckert, when the planned story fell through and Lilace stepped in to write the cover on a tight deadline. It was wildly popular, so the judges were just confirming something you all knew already. PNA also agreed, and Lilace would go on to win a first place Keystone for the story in the personality profile category.

Lilace’s husband, Jimmy Guignard, an English professor at Commonwealth University—Mansfield, is a southerner, and was, true to his roots, a bourbon drinker. But he made peace with this part of the Appalachians by discovering that rye whiskey is also pretty darned tasty, and won an IRMA bronze for his fascinating story of the ongoing history of that beverage in these parts in “Rye Rebels.” One judge wrote: “The writer embodies all you’d hope for in a rye aficionado: dry wit, a worldly-wise outlook, and writing that comes only from being comfortable in one’s wizened skin.”

But they weren’t done. Lilace then took a bronze IRMA in the travel feature category for “Winey Dogs Allowed,” of which a judge said: “Cute title, cuter idea, cutest dog. Practical advice and a fun story—the perfect pairing (somewhat like wineries and dogs, apparently).” It should be noted that the dog referred to is also a Guignard.

So, I just started calling the award The Guignards. (Sorry, Maggie.)

A few weeks later, when the PNA’s Keystone Awards were announced, Jimmy would win a second place for “Rye Rebels” in the business or consumer story category. He was beaten out for first place in that category by another Mountain Home story—“FLX Sour Culture Is Aging Well”—by…Jimmy Guignard.

Our managing editor, Gayle Morrow, has been writing the popular Mother Earth column for more than a decade, and it’s a rare year when she doesn’t bring home the gold, as she did this year when PNA gave her first place for sports/outdoor column. Taking a Keystone in second place for best sports feature story was Don Kelly, owner of the local Tackle Shack, who did a cover story on young Colegan “Gump” Stiner for our annual April fishue called “Fish, Gump, Fish!”

Paula Piatt, who joined our stable of writers in 2023, won two awards for her November cover story on “Veterans in the Wild.” Besides a second place Keystone for feature story, she won the Military & Veterans award from the Pennsylvania Outdoor Writers Association (POWA).

Steve McCloskey, who often writes about sports for us, scored a second place Keystone for personality profile for his June cover story “Farm, Family, and Faith,” about ninety-seven-year-old farmer and teacher Ed Heyler. Steve says, “honestly the biggest reward from that story was the positive reaction from the Heyler family.”

Terence Lane, a sommelier who works in the wine and cider industry in the Finger Lakes, writes the column Planet of the Grapes and libation-related stories for what we have dubbed the “Booze Beat,” and for which he received a second place Keystone for lifestyle/entertainment beat.

Linda Stager captured a pheasant strutting down the middle of a road, an image so delightful it garnered her another first place Keystone for feature photo for “Walking the Line.” Getting second in that category was Deb Young, for “June Reflections,” the image of a daisy suspended in a water drop hanging from a leaf. (You can see another of Deb’s photos, Summertime and the Living Is Easy, as this month’s Back of the Mountain.) Marshall Nych, who wrote “Spring’s Brief Brevity” in the April fishue won a first runner-up award for Best Action Hunting, Trapping, or Fishing Photograph Award from POWA for his photo accompanying the story.

It’s been just over a year since Wade Spencer joined us as art director, and he’s already got a notch in his belt, winning a second-place Keystone in graphic/photo illustration for his nostalgic December cover “It’s a Wonderful Story.”

It takes a village to write a headline, and the staff won an honorable mention Keystone for headline writing: “Flight of the Humblebee” was about Paige Griffin and her lasting legacy, the Humble Bumble Project that assists families and young cancer patients; “Delta Echo Echo Romeo”—the military spelling of deer—headlined a story about Deer Haven Park, a wildlife refuge on the former Seneca Army Depot; and “Model Horsewoman,” about—a woman who makes tack for model horses and competes in shows.

Copious congratulations to all of these homesters, and many thanks to you, our readers, who are the whole point of what we’re doing at Mountain Home. We wouldn’t be here without you!