By Sean P. Ray and Lourdes Daughtry | Managing Editor & Staff Writer
The Northside Chronicle celebrated its 40th anniversary with a party at The Mattress Factory on July 31, where the paper honored prominent members of the community, delved into its history and announced its next fundraising event, a revival of Northside Sandwich Week.
The Chronicle is bringing back Northside Sandwich Week, which was an annual fundraiser held by the Northside Leadership Conference and ran until 2020. Local restaurants would compete for the title of Northside Sandwich King (or Queen). The Chronicle’s version of the event will be held on Oct. 20-27, culminating in a final judging event at The Priory Hotel from 6-9 p.m.
To find details about The Chronicle’s Northside Sandwich Week or to purchase tickets, visit the event's official website.
As for the 40th anniversary, the event was a celebration of all things Chronicle, including the displaying of various issues throughout the years and a delve into the paper’s history.
The main feature of the event was the awarding of the Impact Awards and Community Cornerstone Awards. The former honored major newsmakers on the Northside who have been featured by The Chronicle numerous times and have had a positive impact on their community, while the latter recognized the longest continuous advertisers in The Chronicle, those supporters who have helped the paper stay in operation for so many decades.
The Impact Award winners were Erin Tobin, of Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy; Rev. Brenda Gregg, of Destiny of Faith Church; Mark Fatla, formerly of the Northside Leadership Conference and current author; Dr. Rahmon Hart, of Rivers Casino and the Iota Phi Foundation; and Barbara Burns, co-founder of Northside Pumpkinfest.
For more about the Impact Award recipients, see the August issue of The Northside Chronicle.
The Community Cornerstone winners, meanwhile, consisted of Reformed Presbyterian Home Senior Living (better known was RPH Senior Living), which has advertised since 2008; The Priory Hotel, which has advertised since 2006; SSB Bank (founded as Slovak Savings Bank), which has advertised since 2011; and Breadworks, which has advertised since 2008.
The event was also attended by various former Chronicle managing editors. Kelly Lynn Thomas, who served as The Chronicle’s managing editor from 2010-2011, shared her story of how she came to work for the paper with a Chronicle reporter.
“I actually started at The Chronicle in kind of a unique position,” Thomas said. “I was part of an AmeriCorps program that was part of the American Recovery Act in 2009.”
Thomas worked as a staff writer, and estimated she wrote “probably around 20 stories per issue.”
When she took over as managing editor, Thomas implemented many changes, most notably starting an intern program. The newspaper had many differences during her tenure compared to the modern version, including having no subscription plans.
“I learned a lot — not just about managing a newspaper, but about managing projects in general,” she said of her experience.
Today, Thomas is still an editor, but of a different kind, working at the University of Pittsburgh Press. She credits The Chronicle as helping prepare her for her current career.
Ashlee Green, the managing editor from 2018 to 2022, spoke fondly of her time working at the paper.
“I am really excited to be here because The Northside Chronicle is a really special publication for me personally,” she said. “It was my favorite job ever.”
Also attending was Alyse Horn, managing editor from 2016 to 2017.
