Gabriel Dillard (left) and Frank Lopez of The Business Journal hold their George S. Gruner Awards April 25, 2025 at Fresno State. Photo by Elena Dillard

Central Valley news reporters — including some from The Business Journal — were recognized for their work April 25 at the 37th-annual George F. Gruner Awards at Fresno State.

Named after the late Fresno Bee Executive Editor George F. Gruner, the awards recognize outstanding community service in print journalism in the central San Joaquin Valley.

Gruner retired as executive editor in 1988 after 33 years at the Fresno Bee. He died in 2024 at the age of 99. He was one of the “Fresno Bee Four” who spent more than two weeks in jail to protect a confidential source in 1976.

Gruner attended the awards every year since they were established by the McClatchy Co. in 1989.

The Department of Media and Communications at Fresno State administers the annual competition, which is open to publications and digital-only news sites in Fresno, Kern, Kings Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Stanislaus and Tulare counties.

Business Journal Managing Editor Gabriel Dillard and reporters Dylan Gonzales, Ben Hensley and Frank Lopez received an honorable mention in the public service category for a collection of articles on artificial intelligence.

For smaller papers, Dillard also received a first-place award for best feature story for his piece on the Fresno Stamp Mural, which he described as the city’s “most Instagram-ready location.”

The top prize for public service in the large newspaper/digital-only news sites category for 2024 went to Fresno Bee reporter Melissa Montalvo for her investigation of the working conditions at Pitman Family Farms in Sanger.

One of the judges, former Los Angeles Times Assistant Editor Jim Newton, wrote that Montalvo provided “a devastating look at worker safety in the poultry industry.” Judge Jim Risen, who won two Pulitzer Prizes for the New York Times, called her work “probing, tough, committed.”

Tad Weber of the Fresno Bee won the award for best editorial writing in the larger publication division for a piece supporting harsher penalties for people who solicit sex from minors.

The winner for best news story in the larger public group was Omar S. Rashad of Fresnoland for his examination of the finances of Valley Children’s hospital.

The Mariposa Gazette and reporters Greg Little, Madison Kirkpatrick and Nicole Little received the public service prize in the smaller publication category for their coverage of issues surrounding the management and mission of the local SPCA.

The award for best news story in the smaller publication category went to Mariposa Gazette Editor Greg Little for a piece on the Yosemite National Park concessionaire’s response to health and safety issues such as rodents in park kitchens.

The top prize for feature writing in the larger newspaper division/digital-only division went to Rachel Livinal of the Merced Focus for her story on a federal law that requires any institution receiving federal funds to return Native American remains and relics to their descendants.

In the best column category for larger publications, The Fresno Bee’s Marek Warszawski won for his column about the executive pay at Valley Children’s Hospital.

In the smaller publication category, Juan Esparza Loera of Vida en el Valle won the top prize for his column about a Tulare County supervisor resorting to racist fearmongering during an election.

For the best sports story for larger papers, the award went to Ron Stapp of the Bakersfield Californian for his piece revisiting an undefeated championship season of the Bakersfield College football.

The best sports story for smaller papers was given to the Hanford Sentinel’s Parker Bowman for his story on a high school basketball coach earning her 200th career win while dealing with a personal tragedy.

The best news photo in the larger category was shared by John Donegan of the Bakersfield Californian and the Fresno Bee’s Craig Kohlruss.

The award for the best news photo in the smaller newspaper division went to Juan Esparza Loera of Vida en el Valle.

Rodney Thornburg of the Bakersfield Californian won the award for best sports for among larger papers.

Topping the entries for the best sports photo in the smaller newspapers division was Amanda White of the Mariposa Gazette.

Donald Munro of the Munro Review took the award for best writing for larger papers for his review on “Evil Dead: The Musical.”

Kellie Flanagan of the Mariposa Gazette took top honors for best writing in the small paper division for her piece about four people keeping alive the memory of a young person who died.