Nevada Appeal staff honored with 21 awards

The Nevada Appeal brought home 12 first place awards, and 21 overall from the annual Nevada Press Association during the annual “Better Newspaper Contest,” awards banquet Saturday night in Mesquite.

First place winners were:

Photographer Jim Grant in the sports photography contest for his shot of Carson High’s game in the snow.

“A perfect moment in the perfect storm,” the judge said.

Grant also won for best portrait and best feature photo of basketball being played at the Carson Aquatic Center.

“The expression of this young violinist is beautifully captured in this photo. Every time I look at the photo, new details emerge; the lighting, background, and centering is excellent. The emotions radiate through the photo, making this a great shot on multiple levels,” the judge said.

Photographer Brad Coman for best news photo coverage of Nevada welcomes Charles Sehe.

“The sheer joy, the color, the relationships between the three people just spoke volumes to me. The framing, the moment of the photo, and everything about it just made it a wonderful viewing experience for me,” the judge said.

Reporter Taylor Pettaway won for best breaking news reporting for coverage of the death of Carson City Deputy Carl Howell.

Pettaway also won for best explanatory journalism for her series on domestic violence in Carson City.

“Great in-depth story. Covered a lot of necessary angles: the victim, the abuser, the authorities, impact on children/ families, the causes/the difficulty to leave an abuser, prevention. Excellent side bar stats and data,” the judge said.

Page designer Melissa Erny won for best graphic designer

The editorial staff won for the best web site

The advertising staff won for advertising general excellence

The editorial staff won for best special section — The Nevada Appeal celebrates 150 years with famous front pages.

The editorial staff won for best editorial page

Advertising production designer April Miller for best in-house promotion for the Nevada Appeal pets page.

Second place winners were:

Reporter Geoff Dornan for feature writing about Charles Sehe’s visit to Carson City

The page design staff for best page one design

Coman for best illustrated photo of the illustration of meteors seen over Northern Nevada.

Page designer Laci Thompson for best graphic designer

Third place winners were:

Advertising production designers Mike Madsen, Phillip Lanzino and Mike McGarvey for best ad series for “Nevada Appeal 150: Then and now”

Advertising production designer Erik Achenbach for best black and white ad.

Dornan for best business story about the Stewart Indian School.

Sports reporter Darrell Moody for best sports column.

Madsen for best print ad.

“It is always nice to be recognized for our work,” said Editor Adam Trumble. “We take great pride in telling the stories of those who make Carson City the greatest city in the world. While we celebrate our accomplishments, we know there are many stories that are left untold.”

Most of the awards are divided among five classes: urban daily newspapers with circulation of 15,000 or more; intermediate newspapers, printed more than once a week with circulation of less than 15,000; community newspapers printed weekly or monthly with circulation of less than 10,000; urban weekly newspapers printed weekly with circulation of 10,000 or more; and magazines.