Hoch Publishing Company, publisher of the Marion County Record, Hillsboro Star-Journal, and Peabody Gazette-Bulletin, had another banner year in the Kansas Press Association 2016 Awards of Excellence competition, equaling last year’s record haul of 25 awards.

“Most gratifying of all was to reclaim the award for overall news and writing excellence,” news editor David Colburn said. “Our staff works hard every week to report news that matters, features that entertain and inspire, content that engages thought, touches feelings, and paints the stories of life in Marion County. Everything counts, and everyone here shares in the honor.”

Hoch Publishing won seven other first-place awards, including best front page, best feature package, best news photo, best sports pages, best sports feature, best furniture ad, and best hardware ad.

The newspapers also received nine second-place and eight third-place awards.

“What’s amazing to me is the diversity represented in these awards,” Colburn said. “Stories about religion, seniors, investigative news, and sports are in there. Our award-winning ads range from politics to groceries to entertainment. The one single thing we want to be known for is quality, but within that, mixing it up and doing it right is great for our readers and advertisers.”

The awards are divided into six categories, based on circulation and how often a paper is published. Hoch Publishing won its awards in the mid-size non-daily division, competing against ‘daily’ papers from towns such as Atchison, El Dorado, Augusta, and Junction City that publish four times a week or less, as well as other weeklies.

This year’s entries were judged by Nebraska Press Association.

Awards

First place

• Sports Feature Story
• News and Writing Excellence
• News Photo
• Sports Pages
• Feature Package
• Best Front Page
• Best Furniture Ad
• Best Hardware Ad

Second place

• Feature Story
• Education Story
• Column Writing
• Headline Writing
• Best Story Originating From
  a Public Notice
• Feature Photo
• Best Grocery Ad
• Best Political Ad
• Best House Ad

Third place

• Investigative Story
• Religion Story
• Seniors Story
• Sports Feature Story
• Headline Writing
• Feature Package
• Infographic
• Best Entertainment Ad