Quarterly Shining Star

 

The Quarterly Shining Star Recognition for the quarter ending March 2025 is now open. This is your chance to recognize and celebrate the outstanding contributions of your peers within Independent.

Here's how it works:

·       Purpose: Independent Newsmedia Inc. USA appreciates the efforts of its employees to achieve the desired goal and vision of the company.  Outstanding employees nominated in the categories of Teamwork, Initiative, or Journalism Excellence deserve to be recognized both as a reward for exceptional performance and as a model to other employees.

·       Eligibility: All full-time and part-time regular employees (except senior managers and executives) are eligible to participate in the quarterly program. An employee may be designated as employee of the quarter only once during a calendar year.

·       Procedures: The employee recognizes an employee from Independent’s operational group. Nominations for the award may be submitted by any non-management employee using the nomination form available in ADP>Resources>Forms Library location. Nominations are based on excellent job performance in the above-mentioned categories during the quarter for which the award is to be given.

 What chocolatier began the tradition of giving chocolate for Valentine’s Day?

Completed nomination forms are to be submitted to payroll@iniusa.org between the first and 25^th of the month before the end of quarter. Before the end of each quarter, the Shining Star selection committee, comprised of the CEO/President and Vice President for Corporate Services will review the nominations and select the employee of the quarter. The selection is announced in the following month’s Presslines. The selected employees for the quarter will be recognized in Presslines, receive a certificate and receive a $75 gift card.  

Welcome to Maya Morris.

 

Welcome to Maya Morris. 

Maya joined our customer service team in Arizona February 18 serving all of INI.

I grew up in Phoenix, AZ with my parents and two brothers. Over the last year I lived in NC, where my parents decided to retire, and worked at a Texas Roadhouse as an expediter. During my time there, I assisted managers by being the middleman between both kitchen and front of house employees, ensuring the flow of communication between the entire restaurant.

In my spare time, I create digital art depicting characters and scenes from my upcoming dark fantasy novel. I have been working on this project for four years now, growing my artistic and writing abilities. 

Daily State News welcomes new reporters

 

Daily State News welcomes new reporters

Two reporters have been added to the staff of the Daily State News and BaytoBaynews.com.

Kaitlyn Cupelli will be covering news in the Dover and Kent County areas.

Brian Trompeter will be covering news in the Milford area and digging into statewide education issues.

Cupelli was born and raised in Milford where she graduated Salutatorian of her Milford high School. She received her Bachelor of Arts in journalism from the University of Maryland and her Master of Arts in strategic communications from the University of Delaware.

Trompeter spent 29 years as a reporter, photographer and editor at several community weekly newspapers in Northern Virginia before moving to Delaware.

A native of Kansas City, Missouri, Trompeter grew up in Midland, Michigan, and earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia. He did photo internships in Cape Cod, Knoxville and Saginaw, Michigan.

                                                                   Kaitlyn Cupelli

                                                           Brian Trompeter

INI Florida Group Mission Stories, January 2025

 

In January, stories about new housing developments and the health of Lake Okeechobee were hot topics for the Lake Okeechobee area.

 Will development destroy rural lifestyle in South Florida?

Developments planned in rural counties around Lake Okeechobee were a hot topic in the news in January. While local governments welcome the increased tax base that new housing brings, they understand the concerns of local residents who don’t want to lose the rural lifestyle.  One example came at a January meeting of the Okeechobee County Commission when they discussed the problem of light pollution.

Changes in LDRs to reduce light pollution | South Central Florida Life

 Residents pay the price for water quality

During this year’s Super Bowl, John Denver’s ‘Country Roads’ was played and all of a sudden the entire crowd was singing, which became a sign of unity for our Country according to one of the broadcasters. What company was the sponsor for the playing of ‘Country Roads’.

The health of Lake Okeechobee continues to be a major concern to the South Florida readers served by INI Florida’s newspapers and website. Septic-to-sewer projects reduce the excess phosphorus and nitrogen in the runoff entering the lake, but local residents are concerned about the cost of such projects.

Septic-to-sewer projects protect Lake O | South Central Florida Life