Arizona Press Women honors local editor

gvnews.com

Karen Walenga, special projects editor for the Green Valley News and Sun, won the 2009-10 Communicator of Achievement award for the Arizona Press Women.

APW presented Walenga with the honor May 9, at its 55th annual communication contest award banquet at the Doubletree Guest Suites in Phoenix.

The APW’s Communicator of Achievement is selected based on a candidate’s journalism career, Press Women involvement and volunteer work.

Walenga, of Sahuarita Heights, has a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Arizona and 25 years of experience primarily as a magazine editor and writer.

She has worked as editor of Pinal Ways, a countywide lifestyle magazine published by Casa Grande Valley Newspapers Inc., and covered the mining industry in the western United States for Pay Dirt Magazine. She joined the Green Valley News and Sun in 1997 as editor of the Santa Cruz Valley Sun monthly magazine and has worked as features editor for the News and as editor of The Sahuarita Sun. She currently is editor of a la mode magazine and other special publications.

Walenga has been an APW member for 16 years and was director of its annual high school newspaper contest from 2000-05. She was a board member and newsletter editor for the Santa Cruz Valley chapter of Habitat for Humanity from November 1999 through March 2007, is a past of president of the Pinal County tourism development board, and was a volunteer tutor for the Pinal County Adult Literacy Council.

In this year’s APW communications contest, Walenga earned a second place award for editing a la mode, a lifestyle supplement to the Green Valley News.

APW presented 24 awards in its 2009 communications contest for writing, editing, advertising, public relations, media information and books. First-place winners compete in the National Federation of Press Women annual communications contest.

At the APW awards banquet, the Arizona Newspaper Association’s outstanding writing award was presented to Carol La Valley for her work at the Payson Roundup newspaper. La Valley also was named the sweepstakes winner for the contest. Sweepstakes runner-up was Kaye Patchett for her work in Ranch Hands Canyon Ranch, The Desert Leaf and Arizona Jewish Post.