SUN wins 45 CPA contest awards

Posted Thursday, February 28, 2013 8:00 am

Staff Writer

The staff of The Pagosa Springs SUN brought home a total of 45 awards in the newspaper’s circulation class (medium-size weekly) from the 2012 Colorado Press Association Better Newspaper Contest, including three Extraordinary Achievement awards.

The awards were given out last weekend during the annual convention of the Colorado Press Association in Denver.

SUN staff captured 12 first-place finishes, 15 second-place finishes, and 15 third-place finishes, with the awards coming in categories across the board, leading to three Extraordinary Achievement awards — General Excellence, Photo/Design Sweepstakes, and Advertising Sweepstakes.

Sweepstakes awards are given to the newspaper deemed to be the best in its class, while the General Excellence Award is based on total points earned in the contest’s various categories, excluding website.

Contest entries are judged by peers and industry experts in journalism, information and design, photography and advertising. The 2012 Colorado Press Association Better Newspaper Contest was judged by members of the Kansas Press Association.

The contest period ran from August 2011 to August 2012.

Awards received were for not only the weekly SUN and PREVIEW sections, but for special publications put out by The SUN, as well.

Best Cover Design was awarded to the winter Pagosa Springs Official Visitor Guide (first place) and to the Pagosa Springs Real Estate and Relocation Guide (third place).

“For the second year in a row, the staff at The SUN has brought home the General Excellence Award, along with the Sweepstakes awards for Advertising and Photo/Design in our circulation category,” said SUN Publisher Terri House. “These top awards represent the hard work and dedication of a strong community newspaper staff. Bringing home a total of forty-five awards is a huge accomplishment for any newspaper. I am very proud of our talented and committed staff.”

Honors awarded to SUN staff for this year’s contest are listed below.

Last year, SUN staff garnered 31 awards.

But the SUN was not the only newspaper in southwest Colorado to bring home awards.

“Southwest Colorado cleaned up at the 2013 Colorado Press Association Awards contest, with The SUN, The Durango Herald and Cortez Journal all winning general excellence awards,” House said.

Advertising

First Place:

Best Advertising Special Section: Terri House, Shari Pierce, Mike Pierce.

Best Advertising Campaign: Mike Pierce.

Best Health Care Ad: Shari Pierce.

Best Restaurant or Dining Ad: Mike Pierce.

Second Place:

Best Newspaper/House Ad Promotion: Mike Pierce.

Best Classified Page(s) or Section(s): Terri House.

Best Use of Color in an Ad: Mike Pierce.

Best Health Care Ad: Mike Pierce.

Best Automotive Ad: Mike Pierce.