By BEVERLY STODDART
The NH Press Association celebrated excellence in journalism on Thursday awarding InDepthNH.org’s board chairman Bob Charest the Lifetime Achievement Award and also honored journalists in 30 categories.
The event included a cocktail reception, welcoming remarks by the NHPA President Brendan McQuaid, and the awards presentations at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College.
The award was accepted by Steve Taylor, also a member of the NHCPIJ board. In nominating Charest, InDepthNH publisher Nancy West said, “Bob Charest came on board at the beginning and refuses to accept money for his work. But he does so much more for InDepthNH.org that the word volunteer doesn’t do him justice.
“Bob Charest sometimes writes grants, an occasional column ‘Why It Should Matter NH’ and serves as the active chairman of our Board of Directors.
“He is a major reason why InDepthNH.org is about to enter its eleventh year despite the fact that we bootstrapped our launch and continue to struggle to raise a big enough budget to keep unbiased, non-partisan news alive in New Hampshire.”
She also mentioned Charest’s start at the Lawrence Eagle Tribune and many years at the New Hampshire Union Leader.
“Bob was one of the best editors I ever worked with at the New Hampshire Union Leader in Manchester. He was always the most talented, hard-working and dedicated person in a busy newsroom when he was the Special Section Editor for years. He is a kind, generous man always looking to find ways to be helpful.”
Brendan McQuaid, publisher of the Union Leader, also mentioned Charest’s terrific sense of humor.
Also among the winners were multimedia specialists, Montana West and Schuyler D. Scribner, for second place in the Best Use of Video for their freelance work on InDepthNH.org’s 10th Anniversary video. West is the Integrated Media Producer for NH PBS, and Scribner is a Broadcast Design & Animation Producer for NHPBS.
While studying towards a degree in international law, Scribner supported himself by producing and performing music throughout the Northeast. Just as school and internships ended, his music career moved into high gear. He worked as a producer, audio engineer and session player at studios in Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Nashville. When the focus of the music business turned to music video, he transitioned to producing and directing award-winning video content and music for clients throughout the country.
Scribner joined NHPBS in 2000 and refers to it as “the only real job I’ve ever had.” He does the broadcast design and animation for programs and sponsor breaks, lends his expertise to setting up the video and audio for NHPBS events, and is the go-to advice guy for all things electronic. He’s a valued colleague for other reasons: he consistently garners first place in the annual NHPBS holiday office decorating contest, randomly makes delicious oatmeal raisin cookies, and plays a mean game of “Name that Band,” regardless of the musical genre.
The Massachusetts native now resides in Nottingham, N.H. He also loves motorcycling, sailing, all forms of travel and exploring the Granite State – especially when he’s meeting the folks who are sharing their hometown stories.
Montana West is a life-long technophile and all-around good guy. Montana West is the co-founder and CTO of the New Hampshire Center for Public Interest Journalism, publisher of InDepthNH.org. He has also worked fulltime at NHPBS since 2007.
Veteran reporter Damien Fisher was honored in the investigative news category for InDepthNH.org and the NH Journal.
Fisher is an award winning free lance reporter whose work on corruption and police accountability has regularly been appearing in InDepthNH since 2020.
“Damien is happiest when he is digging into a complex story,” said InDepthNH publisher Nancy West. “Damien is one of the few true investigative reporters in the state, and in my opinion the best.”