The Idaho Catholic Register won three first-place awards, two second-place awards and three Honorable Mentions at this year’s Catholic Media Association Conference.
For the first time in the paper’s history, one of the first place awards was for an entire issue, with the ICR winning in the Best Seasonal Issue category for the June 5, 2020 issue, which included a number of stories and pictures profiling converts who came into the Church at Pentecost.
Another first place was in Best Photo Story, which was a series of photos in that same issue titled, Baptized in His Name, Confirmed in His Spirit. The photos were taken by Vero Gutierrez, Genavive Edman, Jodie Roletto, Holy Spirit Catholic Community and Holy Apostles Parish.
The paper won second place in “Best Reporting on a Special Age Group,” for a profile of Chef Bill Green at Nazareth Retreat Center called Heavenly Banquet, written by Gene Fadness.
The paper won second place in Best Photograph in Catholic Education for a photo sent by Holy Apostles Parish in Meridian called Back to School in Uncertain Era.
Honorable Mention awards were in Best Profile for a story about Father Jerome Montez, On Track Up North: Father Jerome with God as Master Conductor, by Gene Fadness; Best Multiple Picture Package about the deacon ordination in Coeur d’Alene with photos by Genavive Edman and layout by Ann Bixby; and Best Photograph of a Sacrament from a photo by Genavive Edman.
In the last three years, the Idaho Catholic Register has received 25 awards from the Catholic Media Association.
SOME ICR CONTRIBUTORS GETTING NATIONAL ATTENTION
The Idaho Catholic Register has a small staff and, obviously, cannot be everywhere in a geographically large Diocese. For that reason, the newspaper and the diocesan website, depend on faithful Catholics from throughout the Diocese to send information and pictures.
“No one has been better at that than Genavive Edman in Coeur d’Alene,” said Gene Fadness, communications director for the Diocese and editor of the Idaho Catholic Register. “Genavive consistently sends us beautiful, lively photos of many events at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish,” he said. Some of those photos have won national recognition from the Catholic Media Association, and this year was no exception, particularly the photos Edman took at the diaconate ordination in Coeur d’Alene last fall.
Edman was communications director at St. Thomas the Apostle, but recently left that position to devote more of her time to her four sons and the family business, Mustard Seed Media.
Even though she majored in Law and Public Policy at Gonzaga University, Edman took classes in photography and graphic design. “Photography is like a prayer to me, because I get to zoom in on a specific sacrament or event,” she said. Genavive Edman and Benedict “You don’t have to be a professional photographer, but if you make it a prayer, God will bless the content.”
Michael Carbone is a photographer based in the Boise area.
His Table Rock cross photo won a first place in this year’s Catholic Media awards. He also stepped in, on short notice, to photograph the 2018 Idaho Catholic Men’s Conference after the sudden passing of the ICR’s beloved photographer, Bill Molitor.
Carbone’s love of photography started when he lived in Germany during his father’s military service. To him, looking Michael Carbone and Aili out the window on road trips throughout Europe was like watching the world through a picture frame. Picking up a camera after that was natural to him. Being raised in the Catholic faith has also given him direction in photography because he doesn't just see it as a talent but also a gift.
After high school, Carbone was accepted into the Art Institute of Portland and graduated with his degree in Photography and Design. Shortly after graduation, he moved to Idaho and got married. He now has a young daughter, and he and his wife,
Savannah, are working on building a photography business aimed at weddings and portraits.
Bob Dodson, a parishioner at Corpus Christi Parish in Fruitland, has also regularly supplied the Idaho Catholic Register with quality photos of events taking place in that western Idaho parish.
One does not have to be a professional photographer or reporter to send information. “Even if we just get the basics of a story – the who, what, when and where – we can cobble it into a story,” Fadness said. “And you would be surprised at the quality photos we get from people’s iPhone cameras,” he said.
It is particularly gratifying to get photos and news items from outside the Boise area, Fadness said. “More than once we hear complaints that the Register is too Boise-centric, and that is a valid complaint,” he said. “So we really count on faithful Catholics in northern Idaho, the Magic Valley and eastern Idaho keeping us apprised of events and sending us information and photos.”
To send story ideas or photos to the Idaho Catholic Register, email gfadness@rcdb.org or contact us at 208-350-7530.
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