Covenant News

Couple Honored by Newspaper Association

WILLMAR, MN (March 5, 2004) - The Minnesota Newspaper Association (MNA) recently recognized First Covenant Church's Forrest and Theresa Honebrink for longtime industry service, naming them to MNA's "Half Century Club."

Since 1977, the MNA has awarded 126 individuals with membership in the Half Century Club. They are one of three married couples that are part of the club, said a MNA representative.

Forrest worked at the West Central Tribune for 45 years (a total of 56 years in the newspaper industry) and has been affectionately known by colleagues by the nickname "Trees." He retired from the newspaper last July as general foreman in the production department and department head of the assembly department. His first newspaper job was in the fall of 1947 as a carrier for the Willmar Journal, a weekly publication.

Theresa worked 52 years with Willmar newspapers, starting in December 1942 for the Willmar Daily Tribune. Two years later, she became a proofreader for the newspaper and later worked in the circulation and classified advertising departments and as office manager for the West Central Tribune, retiring in 1994.

The Honebrinks have volunteered for the Minnesota Newspaper Museum and are active in church and community activities, according to a recent church newsletter article. Theresa was a longtime Sunday school teacher, said a church staff member, and Forrest has served as a deacon in the past.

The MNA, in existence since 1867 and based in Minneapolis, has nearly 400 member newspapers.

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