TOWN OF WALLKILL – The Orange County Partnership recognized Hank Gross, editor and founder of Mid-Hudson News, with their 2023 Spirit of Innovation Award at their 37th annual dinner held in the Town of Wallkill Tuesday evening.
Gross was recognized alongside Jonah Mandelbaum and Donna Applegate who received the Quality of Life Award, and Matrix Development Group who received this year’s Golden Shovel.
Former State Senator and Publisher of Mid-Hudson News, Mike Martucci, presented Gross with the award.
“Whether on the radio, television, or in print news, Hank’s 50-plus-year career has been dedicated to a singular mission: to keep all of us informed about what is happening in our community,” said Martucci. “Over the years, nobody has done that more consistently than Hank.”
Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus spoke about his personal relationship with Gross.
“I’ve known Hank for 30 years, and I don’t look at him as Mid-Hudson News or as a reporter, I look at him as a friend,” he said.
Gross dedicated the award to two of his previous employees, both of whom have passed away. He thanked the company’s first editor Paul Allen Lester and former chief reporter Paul Ostrander, noting that without their contributions, the company would not have been a success. Gross also thanked his family.
“The almost 24 year adventure has not been by myself,” he said. “Always by my side has been my wife, Ginny.”
In January 2000 Gross launched Mid-HudsonNews.com, the region’s first digital daily newspaper. Drawing on decades of experience in the radio and newspaper industries, Gross initially served as the company’s publisher, editor, and only reporter. In the years to follow, he built the news team to one of the largest in the region. Today, Mid-Hudson News continues as the region’s only free daily online newspaper.
