We congratulate long-time sportswriter Chris Masse on his induction into the West Branch Valley Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.

As our article in this past weekend’s edition, it is far from the first time Chris’ work has been recognized: Chris is the recipient of 16 Keystone Media Awards for his coverage of youth sports over his many years as a reporter and writer.

Chris’ writing has alway caught the tenor and treble of athletes’ performances and explained the dedication and effort — the sacrifice — to which these athletes commit to earn their successes.

Chris has always excelled at covering high school athletics for the same reason so many of our reporters excel in covering the news in our neighborhoods — because he and they understand how these stories touch the lives of our readers.

From our reporting team, to our editors, from our graphic design work helmed by Tim Wertz — himself the winner of a plethora of Keystone Media Awards that have brought the Sun-Gazette recognition as a leader amongst Pennsylvania newspapers — to our advertising and administrative staff, the Sun-Gazette’s team works hard to reflect what is important to the people who call our region home. They work diligently to share the nuances of how the actions of local, state and federal government affect our lives. They work tirelessly, as Chris and his induction once again demonstrate, to share the triumphs of our athletes and of our volunteers and civic organizations.

Often the work is thankless, with long hours, to which Chris and his colleagues in the sports department Jon Gerardi and Henry Huber, our editors Kate Hibbard, Karen Vibert-Kennedy and Nick Seitzer and their colleagues Pat Crossley and Dave Kennedy can attest. Sometimes those long hours can be in the most difficult, stressful and trying conditions, to which our police and fire reporters Matt Courter, Mark Maroney and especially the legendary Philip A. Holmes can attest.

But we do it, and we do the best we can at it — because we know it is important. And because we know it is important to do it right.

We are both proud and honored to offer the most comprehensive coverage of Lycoming County and surrounding communities — from high school sports to the important work done by our school boards and municipal and county governments and from the proceedings in our court system to the stories of our neighbors and friends whose efforts make our communities better, and everything between.