Three times is a charm.
The Beaver County Times has won top honors in its division of the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association’s Keystone Press Awards for the third consecutive year.
The Times won the 2018 Sweepstakes Award of the Keystone awards because it had the highest total points for individual wins for Division III, which covers publications with circulations from 15,000 to 29,999. The Times earned 17 individual awards, including six first-place, five second-place and six honorable mentions.
In addition, The Times won national recognition as one of the Top 10 Best Websites in the country by The Associated Press Sports Editors and 13 awards by the Pennsylvania Associated Press Media Editors association.
Marsha Keefer and Scott Tady also were named as finalists in the newspaper feature category for the 30th annual Robert L. Vann Media Awards sponsored by the Pittsburgh Black Media Federation.
Keystone Press Awards
First place
Times staff, Series, “Aging of Aquarius.”
Marsha Keefer, Features, “Full throttle.”
Tom Davidson, News Beat Reporting, “Veterans of Beaver Valley.”
Sports staff, Page Design, “Before there was ‘Broadway Joe’ Namath,” “Win-Win” and “Valued Pack.”
Steve Hughes, Graphic/Photo Illustration, “Show me the money.”
Andrew Chiappazzi, Marina Weis and Kristen Kudlow, Video Story, “Let Us Play.”
Second place
Katherine Schaffer, Mike Bires, Lucy Schaly, Gwen Titley, Weis, Special Projects, “Quigley at 50.”
Bires, Sports Column, “Jula,” “Lincoln Park” and “Reflections on Steelers’ chairman.”
Hughes, Page Design, “Keepers of the Cup,” “Empire Penguins” and “Show me the money.”
Chiappazzi, Sports Beat Reporting, “Parent and boosters,” “RMU,” “Transfer issues.”
Staff, Headline Writing, “EMS sends SOS,” “Razing Pell” and “Hey there, corgeous.”
Honorable mention
Daveen Rae Kurutz, Investigative Reporting, “Evidentiary privilege.”
Davidson, News Feature Story, “He didn’t text back.”
Kirstin Kennedy, Kate Malongowski and Kurutz, Ongoing News Coverage, “First carfentanil death,” “Coroner withholds data,” “Tracking opioid crisis,” “County fourth in heroin,” “Narcan used” and “Overdose deaths.”
Sports staff, Special Project, “The Times’ Amazing High School Football Preview.”
Megan Miller, Page Design, “Laying down tracks,” “Colors and critters” and “New target on the block.”
Sports staff, Graphic/Photo Illustration, “Valued Pack.”
PAPME
First place
Hughes, Best Full-Page Design, "Gold Standard."
Chiappazzi and Kurutz, Best Enterprise Reporting.
Lisa Micco, Best Column.
Times staff, Best Headline Writing.
Gwen Titley, Best Short Video, “Betty Douglas inspires with her art.”
Titley, Best Long Video, “Notorious Beaver County.”
Kurutz, Best Spot News Coverage, "Ellport man shoots, kills home intruder,” Ellwood City Ledger, Division I.
Second place
Hughes, Best Full-Page Design, "Show me the money."
Tom Bickert, Best Editorial Writing.
Keefer, Best Sports Feature, “From pro to altruistic coach.”
Mary Beth Eastman, Best Illustration or Graphic, “Beaver County is for lovers.”
Sally Maxson, Best Feature Photo, “Gymnastics.”
Chiappazzi, Weis and Kudlow, Best Long Video, “Let Us Play.”
Keystone and PAPME award winners will be honored June 1 and 2 during the annual Pennsylvania Press Conference at the Wyndham Hotel in Gettysburg.
Vann Media Awards
Finalists
Keefer, Newspaper Feature, “The Light on the Hill.”
Tady, Newspaper Feature, “Inspiration & Interpretations.”
Awards will be announced May 3 at the University of Pittsburgh’s O’Hara Student Center ballroom in Oakland.