RUST WINS SUBURBAN NEWSPAPER AWARD

Gary Rust received the Suburban Newspapers of America's top award over the weekend for his work as a leader in the industry.

Rust, president of Rust Communications, which owns the Southeast Missourian and other newspapers, became the 21st recipient of the Dean S. Lesher Award during the SNA's Fall Publishers' & Retail Advertising Directors' Conference held in Chicago.

The Lesher award, considered the organization's most prestigious honor, is named for the late founder of Lesher Communications Inc., a premier suburban newspaper publishing company in the San Francisco, Calif., area.

The Southeast Missourian also received three SNA awards for advertising and promotion. The newspaper received the Best Promotion to Build Circulation and Readership award, as well as a second-place honor for its Mark McGwire campaign.

The newspaper received a third-place award for its Alien advertisement.

Suburban newspaper executives considered for the Lesher award must enhance their industry by: pioneering new concepts; continually publishing outstanding newspapers; providing civic leadership within the communities served by the newspapers; and serving as an example in many, if not all areas related to suburban newspaper publishing.

Jon Rust, who nominated his father for the award, said Gary Rust successfully met all the criteria by his ability to translate "the spirit of suburban newspaper competitiveness and the strategy of media clusters surrounding metro zones."

"While working hard to build his group of family newspapers, Gary has also been a leader in his communities through his newspaper columns and civic enterprise," wrote Jon Rust in the nomination letter. "At the heart of his efforts has been a profound sense of truth, hard work, the ultimate fairness of people, and importance of God."

Gary Rust has board of director memberships with SNA, the Inland Press Association, and Certified Audit of Circulation. He also is a member of the Southeast Missouri State University Foundation Board and the Missouri Advisory Committee for the Untied States Commission on Civil Rights.

He and his wife, Wendy, have six adult children and 11 grandchildren. His newspaper company now spans seven states and more than 35 properties.