During the South Carolina Press Association’s annual meeting on Saturday, March 14, the 2014 News Contest Award winners were announced, recognizing journalism excellence for newspapers across the state. The Island News received six awards for photography, writing and page design.

[caption id="attachment_21818" align="alignright" width="300"]<a href="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/COMMUNITY-NEWS-AWARDS-The-children-at-Kid-Fest-by-Bob-Sofaly-won-third-place-in-the-Feature-Photo-category.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-21818" src="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/COMMUNITY-NEWS-AWARDS-The-children-at-Kid-Fest-by-Bob-Sofaly-won-third-place-in-the-Feature-Photo-category-300x199.jpg" alt="The children at Kid Fest by Bob Sofaly won third place in the Feature Photo category." width="300" height="199" /></a> The children at Kid Fest by Bob Sofaly won third place in the Feature Photo category.[/caption]

Among all 20 weekly newspapers with a circulation more than 4,500, photographer <strong>Eric Smith</strong> took second place in the Sports Action Photo category. In the same division, photographer <strong>Bob Sofaly</strong> won third place in the Feature Photo category.

<strong>Pamela Brownstein</strong>, former editor of The Island News, received four awards. For weekly papers with a circulation more than 4,500, she took second place in the categories of Column Writing, Photo Page Design, and Page One Design Portfolio. She also won second place in the Feature Headline Writing category among all weekly newspapers in South Carolina.

[caption id="attachment_21819" align="alignright" width="300"]<a href="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/COMMUNITY-NEWS-AWARDS-This-photo-of-the-Beaufort-River-by-Eric-Smith-won-second-place-for-Sports-Action-Photo.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-21819" src="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/COMMUNITY-NEWS-AWARDS-This-photo-of-the-Beaufort-River-by-Eric-Smith-won-second-place-for-Sports-Action-Photo-300x168.jpg" alt="The photo of the Beaufort River by Eric Smith won second place for Sports Action Photo." width="300" height="168" /></a> The photo of the Beaufort River by Eric Smith won second place for Sports Action Photo.[/caption]

“We are proud of the hard work our staff puts into The Island News week-in and week-out and are delighted that they have received this much deserved recognition for their contribution to the paper’s success. Our readership continues to increase which is a reflection of our community’s appreciation of The Island News,” said publishers Kim Harding and Elizabeth Newberry.

This is the fourth year in a row The Island News has been recognized by the South Carolina Press Association, with 17 awards total.