Cape Gazette founders honored by Lewes Chamber

Cape Gazette founders Dennis Forney and Trish Vernon were honored as lifetime members by the Lewes Chamber of Commerce Feb. 24.

Forney and Vernon sold the newspaper Dec. 31 to longtime employee and co-publisher Chris Rausch. The transaction set in motion their respective retirements. 

Prior to founding the Cape Gazette in 1993, Forney and Vernon worked for the Daily Whale newspaper for 18 years.

“To say we developed an intimate knowledge of this community is an understatement,” Forney said. “What an honor and privilege it has been to work with all of you, and work with these great communities and see them developing in such a fantastic way.” 

In addition to honors from the chamber, Sussex County Councilman Mark Schaeffer presented Forney and Vernon with a county tribute. 

Former Beebe Healthcare President and CEO Jeffrey Fried also announced the creation of the Dennis Forney Award, which will be bestowed annually to a member of the chamber who does the most to develop and promote the Lewes community. 

“The board of the chamber really felt like we needed to do something more permanent for Dennis, because he’s played such an important role in our community for so many years,” Fried said. “He was president of the chamber board for a number of years, he was instrumental in raising money in our community to develop the new Lewes library, and he was one of the co-founders of the Greater Lewes Foundation. In his role with the Cape Gazette, he did a wonderful job of identifying all the wonderful people and organizations who make up our community.”