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Photo/Smith Communications
Lake Oconee News was awarded for its news coverage in the Better Newspaper Contest, which is coordinated by the Georgia Press Association.
Phillip B. Hubbard won a first-place award for Sports Feature Story while Lance McCurley took second place in the same category. McCurley also received awards for coverage in The Baldwin Bulletin.
T. Michael Stone, who has won awards for his columns over multiple years, took a second-place award for Serious Column.
Leigh Lofgren placed second in Feature Photo, and Leila Scoggins won the thirdplace award in the same category.
Managing editor Josh Lurie placed third for Page One design.
Mark Engel earned a second-place award for Education Writing along with other awards for The Eatonton Messenger.
“We’re proud to win a variety of awards that show we work hard to cover all areas of living in Lake Country,” Lurie said. “We compete with a lot of other good newspapers, including others under the Smith Communications umbrella, so each award is significant.”
Smith Communications Inc. President and CEO A. Mark Smith said, “I am proud of our staff’s awards. The Georgia Press Association awards are against some of the finest newspapers and magazines in the country. We are fortunate to have a great group of talented people on our team.”
Other awards for Smith Communications publications:
• General Excellence: The Baldwin Bulletin, third place
• Page One: The Baldwin Bulletin, Josh Lurie, first place
• Enterprise Story: The Baldwin Bulletin, Timberly Spikes, third place
• Breaking News Writing: The Baldwin Bulletin, Matthew Brown, first place
• Feature Photo: The Baldwin Bulletin, Timberly Spikes, second place
• Layout & Design: The Baldwin Bulletin, Josh Lurie, first place
• Photo Essay: The Baldwin Bulletin, Lance McCurley, third place
• Sports Coverage Story: The Baldwin Bulletin, Lance McCurley, second place
• Sports Coverage Story: The Jones County News, Brad Harrison, first place
• Sports Feature Story: The Jones County News, Brad Harrison, third place
• Layout and Design: The Jones County News, Josh Lurie, first place
• Feature Writing: The Jones County News, Debbie Lurie-Smith, second place
• Business Writing: The Jones County News, Debbie Lurie-Smith, second place
• Religion Writing: The Jones County News, Alaina Minshew, third place
• Feature Writing: Lake Oconee News, Mark Engel, third place
• Enterprise Story: The Eatonton Messenger, Mark Engel, first place
• Lifestyle Coverage: The Eatonton Messenger, first place
• Special Section: The Eatonton Messenger, second place
• Photo Essay: The Eatonton Messenger, Lauren Malek, third place
• Education Writing: The Eatonton Messenger, Lauren Malek, third place
• Sports Section: The Eatonton Messenger, second place
• Magazine Human Interest Feature: Lakelife Magazine, Debbie Lurie-Smith, first place
• Best Magazine Single Photo: Lakelife Magazine, Terry Massey, second place
• Best Magazine Original Writing: Lakelife Magazine, Lynn Hobbs, first place
• Best Magazine Themed Issue: Lakelife Magazine, first and second place
• Best Magazine In-house Photography: Lakelife Magazine, Leigh Lofgren, first place
• Magazine Human Interest Feature: Lakelife Magazine, Hang Segars, second place
Advertising awards
• The Eatonton Messenger – Choice One Dental, Greensboro Family Dentistry, Athens BMW, Coldwell Banker Lake Oconee Realty, Easter Sunrise Service
• The Jones County News – Lions Club Fair, Macon & Robins Bed & Mattress, Loosier Furniture, Veterans Day Special Section
• The Baldwin Bulletin – Choice One Dental, Lake Sinclair Map Pad, Coldwell Banker Lake Oconee Realty, Lake Country Football Preview
• Lake Oconee News – Lake Oconee Map Pad