Islander named Best of Show at press awards

The Islander newspaper was named one of the three Best of Show winning newspapers for 2010 at the annual Florida Press Association awards banquet July 1 at the Vinoy Renaissance hotel in St. Petersburg.

The Best of Show is the highest honor awarded to a newspaper by the FPA at its annual convention.

Islander publisher Bonner Joy accepted the award for the newspaper.

The Best of Show award is presented annually by the FPA to one newspaper in each of the three circulation divisions that had the best overall showing for the annual FPA Better Newspaper Contest.

The results of the 2010 contest were announced before the banquet.

In addition to the Best of Show award, The Islander was named first place in its circulation category for Overall Excellence, the top honor awarded in each circulation division at the awards presentation.

During an awards program, The Islander won four first-place honors, six second-place awards and four third-place certificates. The Best of Show honors were announced at the banquet following the awards presentation.

The newspaper also won first-place in the Community Service category for its annual Wish Book, a compilation of community agencies and their needs.

Reporter Rick Catlin received first-place awards for Best News Story and Best In-Depth News Reporting.

Reporter Lisa Neff won second place in the Best Sports Picture category and second place for Humorous Column.

Sportswriter Kevin Cassidy received the third-place and second-place awards for Best Sports Column.

The Islander’ s website took a second-place award, with web director Wayne Ansell of Baldock, England, along to receive the honor. The newspaper also received second place in the Headline Writing category.

Islander staff also won a second-place award for Front-Page Makeup, while Joy and the newspaper took home a third-place certificate for Best Editorial Page.

The newspaper received third-place awards for both Newspaper Promotion and Special Issue or Supplement, Joy thanked the entire Islander staff for the awards. It was the first time since Joy began The Islander in 1992 that the newspaper received Best in Show.

“ I’ m extremely humbled and grateful for a dedicated top-notch staff, many wonderful contributors and the community involvement in the newspaper. It is indeed an honor,” she said.

7 thoughts on “Islander named Best of Show at press awards

  1. Gene Ciliberti

    Congratulations to Bonner and her professional staff members – the awards are well-earned.

  2. Janet Aubry

    Congratulations!! When you do good work you should be rewarded. Looking forward to increasingly responsible journalism in these ever changing and danger wrought times.

  3. Robert

    I find it interesting that in Holmes Beach we’re being told that we’re probably going to have to buy a parking pass (from what I’ve heard/read this is to help pay for the no parking signs) for something that is somewhat of a necessity for most people…their transportation, yet a luxury (the dog park) can come out of my taxes. Gee maybe we should also sell dog park passes to help maintain the dog park. As the Chief suggested previously for parking violations they could ticket someone every 20 minutes for using the dog park without a pass…

  4. Bunny Garst

    It has always been the best newspaper ever since Joy started it. I’m glad it is getting the awards it so richly deserves.

  5. David Gryboski

    It is wonderful the hard work of the Islander staff is being recognized once again. We are fortunate to have such a paper that keeps us informed about was has happened and as well as upcoming events. Keep up the great work!

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