Serving Western Massachusetts for 60+ years
PRESENTING
The 2025 Valley Press Club Lifetime Achievement Award Ceremony was Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025 at Storrowton Tavern Carriage House in West Springfield.
The Club honored former Republican Executive Editor Wayne Phaneuf, who started his journalism career at The Republican in 1969. He worked as a reporter, columnist and managing editor before serving as the newspaper’s executive editor since 1998. He retired in 2019 and continues to write books with Joseph Carvalho about the history and culture of Western Massachusetts.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE EVENT.
The tools that journalists employ have changed since the Valley Press Club was established in 1960, yet their mission remains the same - to gather the facts and expose the truth. Before computers and the Internet, they accomplished much with a simple notepad and a typewriter. Today, digital technology and social media have improved the delivery process, it’s faster and more accessible to more people, but the mission remains the same. As dedicated journalists in Western Massachusetts continue to fight for transparency in all public aspects of our community, the Valley Press Club will continue to support them and their work.
The Valley Press Club is committed to the highest standards of fair, balanced, and factual journalism. For the past 60+ years, the press club has offered educational workshops, hosted luncheons with provocative newsmakers, and awarded more than 160 college scholarships to local high school students pursuing careers in journalism.
Valley Press Club members include active and retired journalists, public relations professionals, politicians, and citizens from all walks of life, who care about preserving quality journalism. Please consider becoming a member. You will help us maintain quality journalism in western Massachusetts by supporting local students with scholarships. Your membership goes a long way in helping us accomplish our mission.
American journalist Brent Renaud was killed by Russian forces in March 2022, shot in the back of the neck while filming evacuees fleeing the war. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family.
At least 17 journalists and media workers have been killed in Ukraine since Russia began to annex portions of southern Ukraine in 2014.
Photojournalist Lynsey Addario honored for her work: