Raymond Clamage Memorial Award
in recognition of being the staff member who contributed the most to the progress and quality of The Daily Illini during the year.
Raymond Clamage served on the Daily Illini Staff from 1942-43 and was killed in action in World War II. The award was established by his family to honor his life.
Bercham has dedicated practically every night and weekend to designing papers and guides and is committed to making our designs look the best they can. His page design won at the Illinois College Press Association, and it was certainly deserved. Bercham is also majoring in civil engineering, but still found ample time for The Daily Illini. He is exceptionally kind and respectful — he makes the newsroom a better place.
John C. Trebilcock Memorial Award
in recognition of the Best Piece of Investigative Reporting by a member of The Daily Illini staff during the year.
Professor Trebilcock was a member of the College of Journalism faculty teaching reporting and editing from 1948 until his death in 1955.
Joe’s reporting on beekeepers in Illinois brought attention to a national issue. It is an excellent example of tapping into a significant topic and localizing it. He also created the multimedia elements for the story. The project in all took about nine months to complete, and he should be proud of his investigative work on a scientific issue.
Jeff Ponczak Memorial Award
in recognition of being the member of The Daily Illini sports staff who has contributed the most to teamwork, the spirit of friendship, and an unabashed love of sports and fun, as well as quality in reporting sports at the paper during the year.
Jeff Ponczak served as a writer and editor on The Daily Illini sports staff from 1987-91. This award was established by Jeff’s friends and family in June 2008 to honor him and support future sports journalists after Jeff lost a long battle with congenital heart problems .
Tati is an underclassman and a woman on an older and predominantly male sports staff. Nevertheless, she was always ready to pick up any slack and edit people with more experience than her. She also did her work well and went out of her way to be critiqued and to improve. Tati is a great presence in the newsroom, and it will be exciting to see how she impacts the sports section next year.
Brett H. Lerner Memorial Award
in recognition of being the staff member who contributed the most to the progress and quality of Illini Drive during the year.
Brett Lerner was a DI sports reporter and the co-host of WPGU’s Illini Drive. He was killed in a tragic car accident on his way to cover a sporting event in October, 2015. This award was established by Brett’s father in recognition of Brett’s dedication and contributions to WPGU and The Daily Illini. You can read more about Brett here.
Will has shown a love for broadcast journalism and Illini Drive that goes beyond having a fun conversation about sports with friends, though that also plays a part. Will has shown concern about the state of the operating board and the functionality of the studio, taking an initiative to make the program better. He also works on Rollin’ Illini, another radio show that highlights Paralympic athletes. Brett would appreciate all of the passion Will has.
Tom Thomas, Jr. Memorial Award
in recognition of being the member of the WPGU-FM 107.1 staff who made the greatest contribution to the quality and the betterment of the radio station during the year.
Tom Thomas, Jr. worked at WPGU from 1974-76, and in later years was one of Illini Media’s most active alumni. This award was established by his friends and family, in recognition of his dedication and contributions to WPGU and Illini Media after his sudden death in May of 2008.
WPGU is a giant technical machine that Nikhil was never afraid of. Apart from playing superhero whenever equipment breaks down, Nikhil is a part of two successful on air shows, Can I Kick It? and Loud and Local, taking important maintenance roles in both. Not afraid to speak his opinion, Nikhil’s ideas have helped make his projects as successful as they are. Nikhil’s passion for music and entertainment combined with his daringness to try anything has made him a role model for many of the new interns at WPGU.
Gerald S. Cohen Memorial Award
in recognition of being the member of the business staff who made the greatest contribution to the betterment of The Daily Illini during the year.
Gerald S. Cohen worked on The Daily Illini business staff and this award was established by his parents after his untimely death in 1956 in memory of his contributions and dedication to The Daily Illini business staff.
Cate continually went above and beyond as the lead designer for our sales and marketing team, and she always did so with enthusiasm and a smile. Her incredible talent resulted in numerous awards on both the state and national level. Cate’s unbeatable work-ethic and positive attitude made working with her an absolute joy, and set a great example for everyone.