Editor Abigail Allen stepped in as contest director this year at the North and East Texas Press Association conference, which she’ll help bring to Pilot Point next year.
The association, which represents newspapers across two regions of Texas, will celebrate its centennial year in 2026.
“It was interesting to be able to help out in a more concrete way this year,” Allen said. “I was the contest director, so I was the one to line up the judges and worked with my counterpart at the Texas Gulf Coast Press Association. It also meant I got a weird preview of how we did.”
The Post Signal competed against five other papers in the Large Weekly Division alongside the likes of the Wise County Messenger and Hood County News.
“They are all newspapers that have great reputations, some of which have been historically much larger than the Post Signal, so it always feels good to hold our own against larger competitions that may have greater resources and larger staffs than we do,” Allen said. “We’re one of the smallest in our division.”
The Ranch Cities’ own placed fourth or better in seven of nine categories, culminating in its eighth sweepstakes award—the grand prize—at the NETPA.
Awards were a smattering of seconds, thirds and fourths with first-place awards including Sports Coverage, News Photo and General Excellence, the last of which Allen said is the most impactful.
“General Excellence is one I always hope to win,” Allen said. “I feel like it says a lot.”
Not sweeping the completion across the board, despite coming out on top, is a call to action, Allen explained.
“It shows we have strong content throughout the paper and that we have a lot to be proud of about the quality of work we produce,” she said. “By not taking first in every category, it shows we still have a lot to improve in those areas. Just because we’ve done well, doesn’t
The Post-Signal Editor and Publisher Abigail Allen holds the newspaper’s eighth Sweepstakes plaque at the 98th North and East Texas Press Association Convention in Fairfield on Saturday.
Paul Gaudette/The Dublin Citizen
