GREENFIELD — Three newsroom staff members at the Greenfield Recorder recently won awards from the New England Newspaper & Press Association in its 2022 New England Better Newspaper Competition.

Staff Writer Chris Larabee received a third-place honor in the investigative reporting category for a series of stories culminating in the article “Former employees, parents describe downturn of The United Arc, which lost several contracts in July,” published in October 2021.

Larabee followed through on an investigation of The United Arc in Turners Falls after receiving a news tip that it had lost several of its state licenses for different reasons. He filed a public records request to the state Department of Developmental Services, which allowed him to get a less-redacted report than what was posted on the state’s website. The report showed that the agency failed to manage its clients’ health conditions, properly train staff and manage internal affairs, and only met 51% of the state’s licensure requirements.

“It was great to be honored alongside my coworkers and for all of our hard work to be recognized,” said Larabee.

Staff Writer Domenic Poli also took third place in the local personality profile category for his article, “Leverett couple, descendants of refugees, heading to Poland to help those fleeing Ukraine.” The story followed Dean Cycon, owner Dean’s Beans Organic Coffee Company, and his wife Annette, who went to Poland a year ago to help Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion. It ran in March 2022.

“I want to thank NENPA for this wonderful recognition and all of my colleagues and editors for their help and consideration,” Poli said. “I also want to thank my family for their continued support in this demanding line of work.”

Staff Writer Julian Mendoza received a third place award for human interest feature story. His story, “Blue Origin astronaut shares out-of-world experience, Turners Falls roots” was published on Oct. 18, 2021. In it, he tells the story of Audrey Powers, vice president of mission and flight operations of Blue Origin aerospace company, and her family’s small town beginnings in Turners Falls. This story exemplifies that regardless of where your roots lie, there are no limits to how far you can go, both in a literal and a figurative sense.

“With the public valuing journalistic integrity now more than ever, and rightfully so, it is imperative that journalists rise above the status quo to be the eyes and the ears of the people,” Mendoza said. “This is perhaps most paramount in our smaller, traditionally minded communities and in communities underrepresented.”

The awards were presented at the annual New England Newspaper Convention on May 6 in Weston.

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