Journalists from The Surrey-North Delta Leader were at the podium over the weekend, winning awards for writing and photography at the BC & Yukon Community Newspapers Association’s 2016 Ma Murray Awards.
Boaz Joseph received first place in the Sports Photo Award category for an image of the Cloverdale Rodeo (above), and second place for “Puff of Purple” in the Feature Photo Award (Colour) for a photo of the Color Me Rad 5K run at Holland Park.
Puff of purple “stood out, for its excellent timing and uncluttered composition,” said the judges, while the rodeo photo exhibited “tight focus, good expression and interesting content... The image draws viewers into the moment and compels them to feel the rider’s plight.”
Sheila Reynolds and Evan Seal won third place in the Feature Series Award category for their Caring for Kids project.
Judges said it was “a “carefully focused, well-researched series on child care at Surrey Memorial Hospital that’s a real pleasure to read. Illustrated with the stories of families whose kids have been admitted to the hospital’s facilities, the author pays exhaustive attention to all aspects of its paediatric care. Sidebars on Ronald McDonald Family Room and a youth psychiatric unit fundraising project support the main stories.”
The Leader’s sister paper, the Peace Arch News, won top spot for Newspaper Excellence, receiving the highest marks overall against 10 other newspapers, including second-place Abbotsford News and third-place Cowichan Valley Citizen, both also published by The Leader’s parent company, Black Press.