Trail Times reporter Sheri Regnier has once again been recognized for her historical writing.
The West Trail native has been named one of the three finalists for this year’s Neville Shanks Memorial Award to be presented at the Ma Murray Awards in Vancouver in April.
Regnier’s story “Putting a price on priceless pieces of Trail history” (Trail Times, Oct. 16, 2018) spoke to a pair of Toronto appraisers who visited Trail’s new Riverfront Centre.
Their reaction to the treasure trove of memorabilia was captured perfectly by Regnier.
“I always felt in awe of our city’s history,” said Regnier.
“I wanted to capture how they couldn’t believe this incredible collection of everything from sports to archives and through to the extensive collection of the Trail Times that dates back to the first edition almost 125 years ago.
“As I wrote the story, I wanted to share their reaction with the community, which passed on those important pieces of history to the Trail Historical Society to preserve for us.
“To have experts come in to validate my own ‘sense of awe,’ shows how well our history has been preserved.”
The Ma Murray Awards recognize the achievements of the B.C.-Yukon Community Newspapers Association (BCYCNA) 100+ member newspapers.
Regnier’s writing will be up against two other nominees – Pique Newsmagazine’s “Lessons for Whistler’s aspiring councillors” and Yukon News’ “Yukon Archives project aims to identify First Nations individuals in historical photos”
This is the second time Regnier has been recognized for historical writing.
In 2017 she won the Canadian Community Newspaper’s gold medal for best historical story.
In that story, Regnier highlighted the exhibit, called “Ordinary Live, Extraordinary Times: Italian Internment Experience” as well as the local residents impacted by the government actions in the 1940s.