PARKERSBURG — The West Virginia Press Association is accepting nominations for the Press Association Hall of Fame and for the Adam R. Kelly Premier Journalist Award.

Nominations will be accepted through April 1 and will be announced at the annual Press Association convention in August at Canaan Valley.

The Kelly award is the highest individual honor bestowed by the Press Association. It’s given each year in recognition of an individual’s service to the newspapers in the state, the Press Association and to the individual’s community.

The 2016 Award honoree was David Corcoran, editor and publisher of the Glenville Democrat and Pathfinder.

The award was established in 1991 in memory of the late Adam R. Kelly, who wrote the “Country Editor” column and was the owner and editor of The Tyler Star News in Sistersville. Kelly was nationally known for his service to newspapers.

The late Fran Hollendonner, publisher of The Parkersburg News and The Parkersburg Sentinel, was the 2001 recipient of the Kelly and was in the 2013 class inducted into the Hall of Fame.

A committee of past Press Association presidents selects the Kelly honoree from nominations made by journalists or other persons.

Nominations should be submitted to West Virginia Press Association, 3422 Pennsylvania Ave., Charleston, WV 25302, or to donsmith@wvpress.org.

Included in the submission a biography of the nominee with emphasis on their service to the newspapers of the state, the Press Association and to their community. In addition, several samples of the individual’s newspaper writing and work should be provided to the committee.

The Hall of Fame committee also welcomes written nominations which must include a brief biographical sketch.

To be nominated and elected to the Hall of Fame, the nominee must have had an “outstanding” career with a West Virginia newspaper, weekly or daily, or a person can be a native West Virginian who had an outstanding journalism career outside West Virginia. Under exceptional circumstances, the committee may nominate others who have made outstanding contributions to the print media.

The nominee must be deceased for at least five years before consideration for the Hall of Fame.

Nominations should be emailed to Don Smith at donsmith@wvpress.org or by mail to the West Virginia Press Association, 3422 Pennsylvania Ave., Charleston, WV 25302.