GV News, Sahuarita Sun win awards in state contest

The Green Valley News and Sahuarita Sun won several awards in its circulation category in the Arizona Newspapers Association contest Saturday.

The awards were for work from May 1, 2017 to April 30, 2018, and were handed out at the ANA Fall Convention and Annual Meeting at Wild Horse Pass Hotel and Casino near Chandler.

“This year's awards are a testament to the hard work put in by our advertising and newsroom teams for the people of the Santa Cruz Valley,” Publisher Dru Sanchez said. “Our staff is building on a tradition of over 50 years of newspapering in this part of the state and I couldn't be more proud.”

ADVERTISING

•First place: General Excellence

•First place: Best Color Ad, Danielle Burleson, GV Mortuary

•First place: Most Effective Use of Small Space, Sarah Keith, Pompeii-Marana Chamber

•First place: Best Special Section, Graham Harrington, Journey Magazine

•First place: Best Newspaper Promotion Ad, Series or Section: Graham Harrington, Guaranteed Delivery

•Second place: Best Black & White Ad, Danielle Burleson United Methodist Sale

•Second place: Best Paid Ad Series, Danielle Burleson, La Belle

•Second place: Best Online Ad, Static, Nichole Coleman, Animal Care Center

•Third place: Best Online Ad, Dynamic, Mary Lung, Stu Samovitz Real Estate

•Third place: Best Pro Bono/Public Service Ad: Sarah Keith, Casa of Pima County

NEWSROOM

First place: Reporting & Newswriting Excellence

First place: Newspaper Supplement or Magazine, Discover Magazine, editor Karen Walenga

First place: Best News Story, Kim Smith, “Police: Reports policy hurting work”; (Sahuarita Police Department's new report writing protocols mean fewer officers on the streets and longer waits for residents, according to former officers.)

First place: Best Sports Column, Corky Simpson, “Can golfers of tomorrow keep game alive?”

First place: Best Feature Story: Kitty Bottemiller, “Theirs is a bug's life”

First place: Best Column, Analysis, Commentary, Dan Shearer, “Driven by rage, facts be damned”(Pima County Supervisor Ally Miller's mischaracterization of the golf course donation in Green Valley).

First place: Best Sports Photograph, Rick McCallum “Heads up?” Sahuarita Sun

Second place (tie): General Excellence

Second place: Page Design Excellence

Second place: Best Column, Analysis, Commentary, Dan Shearer, “Telling the truth from the start,”(Congressional candidate Ann Kirkpatrick's twisting of comments by opponent Martha McSally.)

Second place: Best Multimedia Storytelling, Kim Smith and Dan Shearer, photos, video, stories on Arizona teacher walkout

Third place: Kim Smith, “Narrow escape” (GVFD Fire Chief Chuck Wunder and his family escape the Sawmill Fire)

Third place: Best Use of Photography

Third place: Best Headline, Dan Shearer, “Click bait” (GV man captures wildlife photos with hidden cameras in Madera Canyon)

Third place: Best Enterprise Story, Kim Smith, “Seniors find relief through marijuana”

Third place: Best Column, Feature or Criticism, Scott Dyke, “Nazis, Patton & the mafia”

Third place: Best News Photograph, Bobby Joe Smith, “Going down hard”