Greater Media Newspapers was recently presented with the 2009 Stuart and Beverley Awbrey Award for CommunityWeekly Newspaper Journalism.

Greater Media Newspapers staff members teamed up to stage a benefit concert at the Stone Pony in December, featuring local and national talent, to raise money for a local food pantry. The newspaper group was recognized for its efforts by the N.J. Society of Professional Journalists with the Stuart and Beverley Awbrey Award. Left to right are: Mark Rosman, Kate Rochelle, Jennifer Amato, Amy Rosen and Joe McCaffrey. The award is given by the New Jersey Society of Professional Journalists to recognize the outstanding public service of a community newspaper that has focused attention on an important local issue and has inspired action toward that cause.

The award was based on the tremendous response to an article by Amy Rosen in the Oct. 14 edition of the News Transcript, which called attention to the immense difficulty the Samaritan Center food pantry in Manalapan was having in meeting the demands of its growing clientele. The News Transcript, a Greater Media Newspapers publication, covers the western Monmouth County towns that are served by the Samaritan Center.

Greater Media Newspapers staff members then organized a benefit concert for the pantry, the “Greater Media Good Samaritan Holiday Bash,” featuring local and national talent, at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park on Dec. 13.

As a result of ticket sales, on-site donations of nonperishable goods, monetary donations, and support from area businesses, the Samaritan Center once again was able to service its clients, which number 100-plus per week.

The Samaritan Center’s director, Regina Finn, described the fundraiser as “probably the best thing that ever happened to the Samaritan Center.”

“Greater Media has given us the recognition that we desperately needed. People now know where we are, what we do and where to find us for help. You can’t believe the [number] of people coming in to give food,” she said.

The contest judges noted that the articles on the food pantry and the benefit concert lived up to the high standards of the Awbreys, who revived New Jersey’s Cranford Chronicle in 1978 not just as a livelihood but as an opportunity to immerse themselves in the town’s civic life.

“They went above and beyond the story to mobilize the community,” said Barbara Reed, president of the

NJSPJ.

Ben E. Cannizzaro, general manager and publisher of Greater Media Newspapers, said, “This award recognizes our long tradition of playing an active role in the communities we serve. I congratulate all the staff members involved in this endeavor for their initiative and public spiritedness.”

Rosen accepted the award on behalf of Greater Media Newspapers and News Transcript Managing Editor Mark Rosman at a luncheon June 13 at the New Jersey PerformingArts Center in Newark.