Honorees
Debbie Guerrero, 2025 Dixie Lee Bradley Award Recipient
October 23, 2025
Dixie Lee Bradley Award
Dixie Lee Bradley tirelessly served WNPA and its members for 45 years. This award, which was conceived in 1996, symbolizes Bradley’s devotion and passion for community newspapers.
It recognizes newspaper staff members who work long and hard, often behind the scenes, to see that the best possible community newspaper is produced and distributed each week.
Publishers nominate one staff member per newspaper. The selection criteria includes a demonstrated record over a considerable time of consistent quality work in any facet of the community newspaper industry including production, circulation, or front office support.
Debbie has been at the Sun several decades, surviving at least three owners, four publishers and multiple editors, ad managers, etc. Debbie has managed circulation and preprint advertising, while simultaneously serving as the bookkeeper. She also knows the postal service system inside and out, making sure newspaper readers got their papers on time.
When the Sun operated as a daily, she handled those duties as well as selling advertising to Spanish-speaking business clients. And when the newspaper still had a press, you could often find Debbie handling quality control, as well, directing color corrections and helping mailroom employees and child carriers. Debbie knows how to run a newspaper from the ground up.
She has been the glue that held the Sunnyside newspaper together through multiple transitions. Today, Debbie is not only the office manager, but also a co-owner of the Sunnyside Sun, a testament to her knowledge of newspapers and what it takes behind the scenes.
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