Awards were presented at the Georgia Press Association annual convention June 12 at Jekyll Island. There were 477 awards presented in 44 categories to 73 newspapers.
The Jones County News placed first in Local News Coverage, which was awarded to editor Debbie Lurie-Smith.
Brad Harrison also earned a first-place award for his coverage of Greyhound sports. Harrison is a freelance writer who has been covering the Hounds since 2020.
Greenberry Moore won placed first for Feature Writing, notably his “Know Your Neighbor” series that highlights individuals in the community. Moore is a former owner of The News, in addition to having a law practice and serving as county commission chairman.
Brandy Round is another freelance writer for The News who often helps photograph events and take sports headshots. She placed first in Photo Essay.
Bethany Tapee-Ward, a JCHS and Georgia College graduate, won second place for Education Writing.
In the advertising contest, The News placed first in Newspaper Promotion, placed second in the Special Section category and had the ad idea of the year.
Smith Communications Inc. President and CEO A. Mark Smith gave credit to the company’s employees.
“I am pleased our four newspapers won 29 major awards and General Excellence for The Lake Oconee News. Winning against over 2,000 entries from good Georgia Newspapers in various categories is outstanding.
“I feel it is a tribute to all the hard work by employees here at Smith Communications.”
The Baldwin Bulletin
• Layout & Design, first place, Josh Lurie
• Page One, second place, Josh Lurie
• Local News Coverage, third place, Bailey Ballard
The Eatonton Messenger
• PhotoEssay,firstandthirdplaces,IanTocher
• SportsSection,firstplace,LanceMcCurley and Ian Tocher
• LifestyleCoverage,firstplace,IanTocher
• LocalNewsCoverage,thirdplace,IanTocher
• MagazineCoverDesign,secondplace,Josh Lurie
• SpecialSportsSection,thirdplace,Lance McCurley and Josh Lurie
Lake Oconee News
• GeneralExcellence,thirdplace
• Layout&Design,firstplace,JoshLurie
• SportsSection,secondplace,Lance McCurley
• PhotoEssay,secondplace,SkylaMorris
• SportsColumn,secondplace,T.Michael Stone
• MagazineCommentary,firstplace,Hank Segars
• MagazinePhotography,firstplace,Leigh Lofgren
• MagazineHumanInterestStory,thirdplace, Lynn Hobbs
