Newspaper bring home 19 awards, 6 1st-place nods
Staff reports
Continuing a seven-year run of success, The Island News took home 19 awards at the 2026 South Carolina Press Association awards luncheon Friday, March 6, 2025 at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center.
This year’s success was bittersweet, however, after the death of The Island News Publisher Jeff Evans in early September after a fall in his home.
“I am proud of and grateful to everyone associated with the The Island News who played a part in our successes in 2025,” Editor Mike McCombs said. “The past few months have not been easy, and given the circumstances, the success we’ve had has been remarkable. As Jeff Evans said last year, we have a smaller staff than almost any other weekly newspaper in the state, and what we accomplish is a testament to the quality and professionalism of that staff.”
The Island News generally competes in Category D, reserved for the largest weekly newspapers.
Six of The Island News’ awards were first-place awards. Leading the way with a first-place award for Column Writing was Cherimie Crane Weatherford.
In addition to the win, her work was named Best Of The Best for 2025, just the fourth time The Island News has won a Best Of The Best honor.
“Very well written,” the judges said. “Thought provoking and succeeds in stirring the emotions. A pleasure to read each one.”
Editor Mike McCombs and photojournalist Amber Hewitt won first place in the Breaking News Reporting category for their coverage of the St. Helena mass shooting.
“Excellent and tragic story of a shooting at a local bar,” the judges said. “The reporting is emotionally powerful yet professionally comprehensive; quotes from witnesses, [a] victim’s brother and police, photos from the scene and updates on progress in the investigation. Excellent job under tragic circumstances.”
McCombs and Hewitt also won second place in the same category.
Hewitt won a first-place award of her own in the Feature Photo category.
“The content, framing and moment gave this photo the edge,” the judges said.
In the Reporting-In-Depth category, Assistant Editor Delayna Earley won first place for her coverage of a missing Beaufort teen reported as a runaway despite evidence she had been a victim of human trafficking.
“Complete and detailed coverage of the “runaway/missing/human trafficked” designation and how they are handled differently and possibly, incorrectly,” the judges wrote. “Great job covering this story! Well written and definitely thought provoking.”
Columnist Lolita Huckaby won a first-place award for Humorous Photo for a dog at the library.
“Yes, it is an animal photo,” the judges said, “but it nicely captures the ‘third element’ – a dog seeming to lament the fact that the people in the photo prefer reading to paying attention to him.”
And designer Hope Shreve won first place in Page One Design for her Sept. 11, 2025 front featuring Evans’ obituary.
“Perfect layout,” the judges said. “Great use of white space. Wonderful tribute. Well done!”
Hewitt added four more awards to her stellar year – two second-place awards for News Video and General News Photo and two third-place awards for General News Photo and Series of Photos.
McCombs won two more second-place awards for Obituary (Rev. Kenneth Hodges) and Spot Sports Story (The Beaufort River Swim).
Earley added a third-place award in Breaking News Reporting, giving The Island News a 1-2-3 Division sweep in that category for the second time, repeating a feat for the 2023 contest year.
Former Beaufort Mayor Bill Rauch and Carol Lucas won second and third place, respectively, in Column Writing to give The Island News it’s first Division sweep in that category, as well.
Longtime local attorney and award-winning columnist Scott Graber won a second-place award for Growth & Development Beat writing, while Sports Editor (and former Editor) Justin Jarrett won third place in Sports Column Writing.
And, last but certainly not least, longtime The Island News photographer Bob Sofaly took home a second-place award for Pictorial. The award is the 35th for Sofaly at The Island News.
