Nevada Magazine Highlights Reno-Tahoe Territory

Photo: Chris Talbot

Nevada Magazine’s November/December 2011 issue — the Reno-Tahoe Territory Special Edition — will be available soon on newsstands throughout Nevada. In it are a feature on Lake Tahoe ski resorts and a roundup of northwestern Nevada cities and towns, including Carson City, Reno, and Virginia City.

Also highlighted are Reno-Tahoe Territory’s lakes and parks, the Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area, noteworthy events in the territory, and a history story titled “The Six-Week Cure,” about Reno’s liberal divorce laws in the 1930s and the effect they had on the city.

The issue concludes Nevada Magazine’s 75th-anniversary year. To celebrate the milestone, the magazine covered Nevada’s six tourism “Territories” in 2011, customizing each of the year’s six issues to honor Las Vegas Territory, Pony Express Territory, Cowboy Country, Indian Territory, Nevada Silver Trails, and, finally, Reno-Tahoe Territory. Read all the Territory issues here.

Nevada enthusiasts can package the six special Territory issues with other great Nevada Magazine products such as the 75th-Anniversary Edition and 2012 Nevada Historical Calendar. The magazine is offering a number of great holiday gifts, such as the Nevada Lover's Package. Find out more at nevadamagazine.com, or by calling 775-687-0603.

Great Basin National Park Celebrates 25 Years

Great Basin National Park's Lehman Caves.

Superintendent Andy Ferguson welcomes visitors to the Lehman Caves Visitor Center Thursday, October 27 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the park’s establishment in 1986. During the all-day open house there will be special displays. Light refreshments will be served at 10 a.m.

Due to this special occasion, Ferguson will suspend collection of cave-tour and camping fees for the day. There are four scheduled tours of Lehman Caves at 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m. There are 20 spaces per tour. Advance ticket sales (no fee) will be taken until 4 p.m. on Wednesday, October 26. You can also call 775-234-7331 (ext. 242) to request an advance ticket. If there are any spaces remaining, they will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis at 8 a.m. on Thursday. Campground fees will also be suspended for the night of October 27.

Nevada Magazine's June 1987 cover,
featuring Great Basin National Park.

The Western National Parks Association Bookstore at the Lehman Caves Visitor Center will offer a 15% discount on all products including cards, maps, books, and games.

On behalf of Great Basin National Park, Ferguson expressed his appreciation for all of the support and goodwill that has been shown over the past 25 years. He hopes to be an even better neighbor in the years to come.

View more photos from Great Basin National Park here. Read more about Great Basin National Park and Pony Express Territory's other parks here.

Nevada Press Association Honors Nevada Magazine

Left to Right: Melissa Loomis, Carrie Roussel, Matthew B. Brown, Janet Geary, Tony deRonnebeck. Not Pictured: Charlie Johnston, Sean Nebeker, Pati Stefonowicz

Nevada Magazine won First Place-General Excellence, and Editor Matthew B. Brown was named Outstanding Journalist, among other accolades, in the Magazines category of the 2011 Nevada Press Association awards. Plaques and certificates were distributed at a ceremony at the historic Piper's Opera House in Virginia City on Saturday, October 15.

Among Nevada Magazine's other distinguished honors are:

• Advertising General Excellence

• Best Page Designer(s)
First Place: Tony deRonnebeck
Third Place: Sean Nebeker

• Best Entertainment Writing
First Place: Charlie Johnston

• Best Regular Department
First Place: “History”

• Best-In House Promotion
First Place: Sean Nebeker, “We're Traveling Nevada”

• Best Multiple Photo Essay
First Place: Tony deRonnebeck (designer) and various photographers, “Wildflowers of Nevada”

• Best Feature Story
Second Place: Charlie Johnston, “Tales From Las Vegas”

• Best Illustrated Photo
First Place: Steve Woodbury (Nevada Commission on Tourism), “Rhyolite”

• Best Feature Photo
First Place: Rachid Dahnoun (freelancer), “Pyramid Lake”

A complete list of 2011 Nevada Press Association award winners can be found here. Nevada Magazine also won First Place-General Excellence in 2009, the first year the Nevada Press Association added magazines to its annual awards competition.

"This is especially rewarding during our 75th-anniversary year," says Publisher Janet Geary. "We are extremely honored to be recognized by our peers in the journalism industry."

Nevada Magazine hosts IRMA conference in Reno

Nevada Magazine, the official state tourism publication, will host the International Regional Magazine Association (IRMA) conference September 9-12 at Reno’s Peppermill Resort Spa Casino.

IRMA’s 51st annual conference will bring together regional publications from Canada and the United States to The Biggest Little City in the World. “One very productive aspect of the IRMA conferences is the informal sharing of information, everything from contributors’ fees to good advertising strategies,” says Elizabeth Folwell, creative director for Adirondack Life, based in upstate New York. “Questions come up outside the formal presentations in the spirit of working together.”

In addition to their time spent in Reno, some of the more than 70 conference attendees will tour South Lake Tahoe the afternoon of September 9, and all the conference guests will spend the evening of September 12 riding the Virginia & Truckee Railroad, followed by dinner, in historic Virginia City. Reno’s Siena Hotel Spa Casino will host a reception and dinner as well on September 11.

On Saturday, Susan Breidenbach, social media specialist at Reno’s ProNet, will present at the conference, followed by Alan Deutschman, professor and Reynolds Chair of Business Journalism at University of Nevada, Reno. Other General Session speakers during the conference include Beth Roy and Eileen White of Iowa fulfillment company CDS Global and Toronto-based editor and consultant Kim Pittaway.

A complete conference agenda can be found here.

“The fact that we’re hosting this conference during our 75th-anniversary year makes it extra special,” says Nevada Magazine Publisher Janet Geary. “We are excited to not only reconnect with our partners in the magazine industry, but also to introduce the Reno-Tahoe area to out-of-towners.”

Las Vegas resident wins Nevada Magazine’s 2011 Photo Contest

The winning image, titled “Night Sky Over Ward Charcoal Ovens,” was taken at
eastern Nevada’s Ward Charcoal Ovens State Historic Park. Photo: Thomas McEwan

Thomas McEwan, who captured a starry night at eastern Nevada’s Ward Charcoal Ovens State Historic Park, is the Grand Prize winner of Nevada Magazine’s 34th annual Great Nevada Picture Hunt photo contest—the feature story in the publication’s September/October issue.

The winning image, titled “Night Sky Over Ward Charcoal Ovens” and shown above, was stitched together from six 75-second exposure frames and is a tribute to Nevada’s astronomical appeal. “You would think it would be jet black at night, but the starlight was so bright, I was able to work without a flashlight,” says McEwan, from Las Vegas.

In addition to the Grand Prize, photographers were judged in six categories: Las Vegas Territory, Pony Express Territory, Cowboy Country, Indian Territory, Nevada Silver Trails, and Reno-Tahoe Territory (see map here). The Nevada Commission on Tourism has split the state into these six “territories” for marketing purposes.

All the 2011 category winners and runners-up are Nevada residents, including Reno’s Sally Hanrahan, who won the Indian Territory and Reno-Tahoe Territory categories. Hanrahan’s winning photos are of Pyramid Lake and Lake Tahoe, respectively.

Nevada Magazine’s
September/October 2011 issue.
Photo: Dave Harrison

The other territory winners are as follows: Kurt Kuznicki of Reno for “Joshua Trees”; Robert Rollins of Reno for “Fort Churchill”; Roy O’Brien of Gardnerville for “Autumn Morning” taken in Lamoille Canyon; and Brian Beffort of Reno for “Wilderness Whitewater” snapped near Mount Grafton.

Like Hanrahan, Spring Creek’s Jodi Esplin is also a dual honoree, taking Runner-Up in the Cowboy Country category and Third Place in the contest’s seventh category, “Then & Now,” in which photographers were asked to re-create former Nevada Highways and Parks or Nevada Magazine cover images.

The winner of Then & Now, Dawn Andone of Panaca, was rewarded for her modern-day photo of Cathedral Gorge State Park, a re-creation of a March 1937 cover of Nevada Highways and Parks.

To view the winning images, pick up the latest issue at national bookstores and where magazines are sold in Nevada, or visit nevadamagazine.com. Look for an ad in a future 2012 issue covering rules of submission for the 2012 contest, or check back regularly at nevadamagazine.com.

Nevada Magazine celebrates Nevada Silver Trails

The remainder of the September/October 2011 issue honors Nevada’s second-largest territory, Nevada Silver Trails. In it are features on Silver Trails parks and recreation—including Death Valley National Park and Lincoln County’s five state parks—and a roundup of 17 south-central towns.

Also highlighted are Yerington’s Jeanne Dini Cultural Center, Death Valley Junction’s Amargosa Opera House, off-the-beaten-path destinations, noteworthy events, and a history story titled “Gold Finds Make Nevada History,” an excerpt from Nevada Magazine’s 75th-Anniversary Edition and the July 1936 issue of Nevada Highways and Parks.

As part of its 75th anniversary, the magazine is highlighting Nevada’s six “Territories” in 2011, customizing each of the year’s six issues to honor Las Vegas Territory, Pony Express Territory, Cowboy Country, Indian Territory, Nevada Silver Trails, and Reno-Tahoe Territory. The November/December 2011 issue will cover Reno-Tahoe Territory.

FOLIO: Honors Nevada Magazine Editor

Matthew B. Brown, editor of Nevada Magazine, has been named to FOLIO: Magazine’s 2011 FOLIO: 40, the company’s yearly “list of some of the most distinguished magazine and media professionals from every corner of our industry.”

Brown, in his fourth year as editor of Nevada’s official tourism publication, is featured in the April 2011 edition of FOLIO: and on foliomag.com. The 29-year-old guides the production of the bimonthly publication, but his prowess for marketing Nevada Magazine via social media, e-newsletters, and nevadamagazine.com garnered special attention from FOLIO:.

“I think the modern editor has to operate in multiple dimensions today — and that’s posting an amazing picture on Flickr from an upcoming article, or an informative posting on Twitter or Facebook to drive traffic to your website, and then making your website look and read as well as your print magazine does,” Brown says in the FOLIO: 40 article.

Nevada Magazine is a division of the Nevada Commission on Tourism (NCOT).

“Nevada Magazine plays an important role in our tourism marketing efforts, and Matt has done a great job as its editor,” says Lt. Gov. Brian K. Krolicki, chair of NCOT. “Matt’s focus on social media has ensured that the magazine utilizes current trends effectively and reaches an even greater audience.”

“It is gratifying to see the dedication and talent of Matt Brown recognized on a national level,” says Larry Friedman, interim director of NCOT. “He makes Nevada Magazine and Nevada proud.”

Since Brown took over as editor, nevadamagazine.com has won two national awards, including a National Headliner Award in 2008. The print magazine received a General Excellence award from the Nevada Press Association in 2009, and the same organization recognized Brown individually with Best Local Column and Best Feature Story awards in 2010.

Brown, whose photographs appear regularly in the magazine and on nevadamagazine.com, started and manages all of Nevada Magazine’s social websites, including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Flickr. He travels the state extensively, researching, photographing, and taking video for upcoming stories.

Before joining Nevada Magazine as associate editor in 2006, Brown worked as the sports and outdoors editor at the Sierra Sun newspaper in Truckee, Calif., and as a sports copy editor and reporter for the Reno Gazette-Journal. He graduated in 2003 from California State University, Chico with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and currently lives in Reno with his wife and 1-year-old son.

Read the FOLIO article about Brown here.

Nevada Magazine announces 2011 photo contest

For more than three decades, Nevada Magazine’s Great Nevada Picture Hunt photo contest has been a favorite among photographers and readers. The Grand Prize winner of this year’s contest will receive $250 and a tour courtesy of Wild Horses of Nevada Photography out of Dayton.

New to this year’s contest, six “Territory” category winners will each receive $100. Also new is the “Then and Now” category, which asks photographers to re-create past Nevada Magazine and Nevada Highways and Parks cover images. All the cover images, dating to 1936, are available at Nevada Magazine’s Flickr profile. The winner of the Then and Now category will receive $150.

The 2011 Great Nevada Picture Hunt is open to all photographers. Send photo submissions, preferably via e-mail, to tony@nevadamagazine.com by 5 p.m. (PDT) on Friday, June 24, 2011. If you need to mail your images, call 775-687-0606 for instructions. To view past photo contest winners, or for more contest details, click here.

In Nevada Magazine’s May/June 2011 issue

Nevada Magazine’s May/June 2011 issue — the Cowboy Country Territory Special Edition — is now available on newsstands throughout Nevada. In it is a feature on Nevada’s western culture and a roundup of Northern Nevada towns. Also highlighted are Northern Nevada’s parks and recreation areas, off-the-beaten-path destinations, and noteworthy events and a history story titled “The Sheepmen,” which is an excerpt from Robert Laxalt’s book, Nevada: A History.

As part of its 75th anniversary, the magazine is highlighting Nevada’s six “Territories” in 2011, customizing each of the year’s six issues to honor Las Vegas Territory, Reno-Tahoe Territory, Pony Express Territory, Indian Territory, Cowboy Country, and Nevada Silver Trails. The upcoming July/August 2011 issue will cover Nevada’s statewide Indian Territory.

Vote in Nevada Magazine’s Best of Nevada readers’ poll

Nevada Magazine’s annual Best of Nevada readers’ poll is now available online at nevadamagazine.com. The 14th annual poll allows readers to weigh in on categories ranging from Best Casino, Restaurant, and Show to Best Place to Take the Kids.

Results will be published in the July/August 2011 issue and on nevadamagazine.com in mid-June. “We encourage everyone to go to our website and vote for their favorites, in Las Vegas, Reno, and our small towns and rural areas,” says Publisher Janet Geary.

To vote, visit the nevadamagazine.com homepage and click on the Best of Nevada 2011 link. You do not need to fill out all the categories to submit your survey. However, two lucky voters who complete their ballots will win a complimentary Nevada-themed book package and first-season “Bonanza” DVD set. Voting ends on Friday, April 15.

The 2008 through 2010 Best of Nevada winners can be viewed at nevadamagazine.com.

In Nevada Magazine’s March/April 2011 issue

Nevada Magazine’s March/April issue — the Pony Express Territory Special Edition — is now available on newsstands throughout Nevada. In it are features on “The Loneliest Road in America” (U.S. Highway 50) and a roundup of central Nevada towns. Also highlighted are central Nevada’s parks and recreation areas, off-the-beaten-path destinations, noteworthy events, and a history story about Kennecott Copper Corporation, which was headquartered in McGill for many years.

As part of its 75th anniversary, the magazine is highlighting Nevada’s six “Territories” in 2011, customizing each of the year’s six issues to honor Las Vegas Territory, Reno-Tahoe Territory, Pony Express Territory, Indian Territory, Cowboy Country, and Nevada Silver Trails. The May/June 2011 issue will cover Northern Nevada’s Cowboy Country.

March/April 2011 cover image by Mike Sevon.

2011 Photo Contest

For complete Great Nevada Picture Hunt submission rules, click here.

Northwest Territorial Mint

After crossing the finish line of a marathon or other distance race, participants are bestowed a medal to commemorate their achievement—a symbol of the journey they made to reach the finish line. Although few runners consider it, those shiny pieces of metal underwent quite the journey to reach the finish line as well.

Many such medals and numerous other commemorative and honorary medallions start their journeys at Medallic Art Company and Northwest Territorial Mint in Dayton, the largest private mint in the country. A marathoner myself, I never considered the journey these baubles made to reach me; that is, until I had the chance to tour the mint recently.

Medallions, medals, coins, and the like start as ideas, which can vary from concepts, photos, and rough sketches to finished artwork. Medallic’s in-house artists take clients’ concepts and adapt them to work on the faces of a product.

First, a plaster model roughly three to four times the size of the finished product is made. From that an inverse of the model, called a die shell, is created. Die shells, which are still three to four times larger than the final medallion or coin, are then put onto special machines that reduce their size to create a die used to press the actual product. Coin and medallion blanks—such as the silver ones that are melted, poured, and formed onsite—are then pressed into form with up to 600 tons of pressure. Depending on their design, some coins and medallions have to be pressed, heated, and pressed again up to 12 times.

Some products are ready to be sent to the customer after the pressing is done, but for many, a series of treatments stand between them and their eager recipients. To give a medal or coin the appearance of higher relief, it is tarnished and then polished, leaving dark stain in the recesses while the raised parts are brought to a glossy shine. This process involves sandblasting, chemical baths, and detailed hand polishing. Although this is the final step for many of Medallic’s products, some receive a final treatment with the application of detailed colored enamels, all hand-painted by expert artists.

Born in the early 1900s in New York City, Medallic Art Company owes it existence to brothers Henri and Felix Weil and the reduction machine they brought from their native France. At the time, metal ornaments in the U.S. were typically cast (the earliest incarnation of Medallic was concerned primarily with creating trinkets to accent ladies’ purses), a process that did not lend itself to great detail in the art.

It was not until 1907 that the company made its first foray into medallions when the company was commissioned to create a medallion commemorating the centennial of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s birth.

The company would continue to grow in business and reputation through several moves and changes in ownership—including a merger with the Northwest Territorial Mint—until July 2009 when it moved to Dayton. Today, Medallic is Dayton’s largest private employer with more than 150 people on the payroll and room to grow.

Story by Charlie Johnston
Photos by Matthew B. Brown (see more photos here).

Nevada Magazine celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2011

In January 1936, the state highway department introduced Nevada Highways and Parks — known today as Nevada Magazine. Always an information source for Nevada residents and tourists, what started as a black-and-white digest-sized bulletin has grown into a colorful magazine (see past issues here). Today, Nevada Magazine is a division of the Nevada Commission on Tourism, published bimonthly, and based in Carson City and Las Vegas.

In 2011, the state’s official tourism publication celebrates its 75th anniversary. To honor the milestone, the magazine will produce a 192-page special edition, to be printed late this year. “Nevada Magazine is an icon in the West,” says Publisher Janet M. Geary. “Just the other day I was talking to a man in Las Vegas who owns every issue of the magazine. We are excited to celebrate 75 years of Nevada history.”

Subscribers, history buffs, and general Nevada enthusiasts can order the 75th-Anniversary Special Edition now at nevadamagazine.com or by calling 775-687-0603. The special edition will feature re-printed stories from the past eight decades and provide a fascinating historical perspective on Nevada, including the Pony Express, atomic testing, Nevada’s mining legacy, Hoover Dam, wild horses, and more. The collector’s editions are $19.95 each, plus $4 shipping and handling. ORDER HERE

In addition, the magazine will highlight Nevada’s six “Territories” in 2011, customizing each of the year’s six issues to honor Las Vegas Territory, Reno-Tahoe Territory, Pony Express Territory, Indian Territory, Cowboy Country, and Nevada Silver Trails. For more information on Nevada tourism’s Territory designations, visit nevadamagazine.com.