Raymond Receives Rotary Vocational Excellence Award

(STEVE AND RUTH RAYMOND)

With a look of surprise as his name was announced, Steve Raymond was honored by Effingham Noon Rotary Club with its prestigious Vocational Excellence Award.

Rotary is comprised of professionals from different fields, backgrounds, and industries with the objectives to exchange ideas, build relationships, and take action for service to their communities. Vocational service and excellence has the purpose of promoting high ethical standards in businesses and professions, fostering the ideal of service, and lending their vocational skills to club projects and community betterment.

Steve Raymond has a lifelong history as a newspaper man with news writing in his blood. He speaks fondly of his father who was a newspaper man for 50 years or so. Steve had a dream of running his own paper. Steve and his wife Ruth moved to Effingham in 1999. He worked at the Effingham Daily News and became its publisher a year or so later. Then, in 2012 he took the leap to start his own newspaper, the Effingham Teutopolis News Report.

According to one of his nominators, “Steve’s not your ordinary paper man. This is not your ordinary newspaper. Yes, it has news stories, recent and important headlines, advertisements, events, wedding and other social announcements, and plenty of photos. But one thing that stands out is that it is free to subscribers. It’s beneficial to all concerned. If you have a post office address in the service area, you get access to all the information printed – thanks of course to the advertisers.”

“The primary difference brought to homes across the region is the news itself. While the ETNR is a resource for area news and events, it focuses on the people that make the community the crossroads of opportunity it is known for. Often, those people who are featured in the wide variety of stories are not the ones causing sensational headlines, but rather, those people (Steve would say, “folks”) who’s care, work and/or dedication are making a sensational difference and deserving of a headline. Steve doesn’t wait for the news. He seeks out their stories and shares the personal side that brings it to living color in black and white newsprint. It’s news that builds good will and better friendships.”

Also noted is Steve Raymond’s love of sports. Thanks to this passion, the ETNR covers a large amount of local sport activities. In doing so many of the young women and men of the area schools (along with coaches, teachers, and families) are featured. This provides great coverage and support of these future citizens.

Steve’s commitment to have a quality product has been responsive to what the community and its readers need. His commitment to telling the rest of us, other peoples’ stories with the deeper human interest behind the headlines, paints a brighter picture of what makes Effingham County a great place to live, work and play.

His work has helped fellow Rotarians know more about their community and about his vocation as a news editor/publisher. Rotarian Kory Doty made the award presentation. Other members of the Vocational Excellence Award committee include Chairperson Beverly Soltwedel, Chad Markham, and Steve Seymour.