Class of ‘24 hits the road

Editor, Winkler Morden Voice and Altona Rhineland Voice. Ashleigh has been covering the goings-on in the Pembina Valley since 2000, starting as cub reporter on the high school news beat for the former Winkler Times and working her way up to the editor’s chair at the Winkler Morden Voice (2010) and Altona Rhineland Voice (2022). Ashleigh has a passion for community journalism, sharing the stories that really matter to people and helping to shine a spotlight on some of the amazing individuals, organizations, programs, and events that together create the wonderful mosaic that is this community. Under her leadership, the Voice has received numerous awards from the Manitoba Community Newspapers Association, including Best All-Around Newspaper, Best in Class, and Best Layout and Design. Ashleigh herself has been honoured with multiple writing awards in various categories—tourism, arts and culture, education, history, health, and news, among others—and received a second-place nod for the Reporter of the Year Award in 2022. She has also received top-three finishes multiple times in the Better Communities Story of the Year category, which recognizes the best article with a focus on outstanding local leadership and citizenship, volunteerism, and/or non-profit efforts deemed innovative or of overall benefit to community living.  It’s these stories that Ashleigh most loves to pursue, as they truly depict the heart and soul of the community. In her spare time, Ashleigh has been involved as a volunteer with United Way Pembina Valley, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Pembina Valley, and the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre.