On Saturday, April 22, Cyndy Slovak-Barton, former owner and publisher of the Hays Free Press and News-Dispatch, received the South Texas Press Association’s Chester Evans Award for distinguished service, in recognition of her years of dedicated service to the South Texas Press Association. Slovak-Barton is a past president of South Texas Press Association and served as the scholarship chairman for many years. She was inducted into the Texas Newspaper Foundation Hall of Fame in 2020. In 2022, she retired after 38 years in the newspaper business.