The Pahrump Valley Times earned nearly two dozen accolades at the Nevada Press Association’s 2013 Better Newspaper Contest Awards presentation in Elko last Saturday.
The PVT staff earned a total of 23 awards in numerous categories from news writing to advertising design to newspaper layout.
PVT lead graphic artist Heather Ruth led the pack, earning 10 awards all by herself. These included four first-place honors, one each in the Best Illustration, Best Large-Space Ad, Best Black &White Ad and Best Multi-Color Ad contests.
In fact, Ruth won all three top honors in the Best Multicolor Ad design category alone, as well as an additional two second-place awards and two third-place awards in other design contests.
Other top award winners in the intermediate newspaper category — made up of the state’s largest non-daily newspapers — included the PVT’s editor and chief photographer.
Photographer Horace Langford Jr. won first place in two categories, Best News Photo Coverage and Best Multiple Photo Essay.
Editor Matt Ward won first place for Best News Feature Story.
The PVT’s three reporters also picked up some accolades. Mark Waite received third place honors for Best Feature Story as well as Best News Feature Story.
Reporter Kelsey Givens received multiple awards also. She earned second place for Best Feature Story and third place for Best Spot News Story.
Sports reporter Vern Hee took third place for Best Sports Feature, while news reporter Selwyn Harris earned third place for Best Explanatory Journalism.
Designer Jessica Beaudoin earned two third-place awards for Best Page One Design and Best Page Designer.
Ward said after the awards were announced that he was not surprised by the PVT’s strong showing.
“Like many newspapers today, the Pahrump Valley Times operates in an environment of limited resources. That said, I am proud and I know the staff is proud that we not only provide a valuable service to our community but are consistently recognized for excellent work in doing so by our peers within the industry,” the editor said. “Our readers and the Pahrump community should also take pride in the fact they have such a group of dedicated journalists working diligently on their behalf every day.”