BELLINGHAM - The Washington Newspaper Publishers Association 2022 Better Newspaper Contest was held over the weekend in Bellingham and had the Columbia Basin Herald honored in several categories for their work in the last year.

"I am extremely proud of the work our editorial team does on a daily basis to bring local news to the Columbia Basin,” said General Manager Bob Richardson, general manager at the Herald. “Our goal is to bring quality content to our friends and neighbors. These awards exemplify our commitment to that goal.”

Richardson applauded the efforts of the editorial and design teams.

“Our design team had a successful year as well,” he said. “They are creative and they really put out quality work to help our businesses stand out. I couldn't be happier than I am with our team here at the Columbia Basin Herald."

There were dozens of entries in each of the award divisions among 48 participating newspapers. Categories and entry numbers included:

• Advertising - 231 entries
• Special Sections - 75 entries
• News - 1,166 entries
• Digital - 30 entries
• General Excellence - 41 entries

The awards given to individuals and groups at the Columbia Basin Herald are as follows:

Advertising:

• First Place - Color Ad, Smaller than ½ page Group 3 (Dana Moreno)
• Second Place - Single Advertiser, ½ page or larger Groups 3&4 (Columbia Basin Herald & HMAC Team)
• Second Place - Branding Ad Group 3 (Dana Moreno)
• Second Place - Newspaper House Ad Group 3 (Dana Moreno)
• Second Place - Use of Clip Art Groups 3&4 (Dana Moreno)
• Third Place - Single Advertiser, Smaller than ½ page Group 3 (Columbia Basin Herald & HMAC Team)
• Third Place - Most Original Idea Groups 1-4 (Columbia Basin Herald & HMAC Team)

Special Sections:

• First Place - Community Guide Sections Groups 1-4 (Columbia Basin Herald Team)
• Third Place - Tourism Special Sections Groups 3&4 (Columbia Basin Herald Team)

News:

• First Place - General Feature Story, Short Groups 3&4(Cheryl Schweizer)
• Second Place - News Story, Short Group 3 (Charles Featherstone)
• Second and Third Place - News Headlines Groups 3&4 (Joel Martin)
• Second Place - Arts Feature or Story Group 3 (Charles Featherstone)
• Second Place - Feature Page Design Groups 3&4 (Joel Martin)
• Third Place - Sports Personality Profile Groups 3&4 (Rebecca Pettingill)
• Third Place - Front Page Design Groups 3&4 (Joel Martin)

Rebecca Pettingill may be reached at rpettingill@columbiabasinherald.com.

Editor's note: The Columbia Basin Herald works hard to ensure we are providing an informative high-quality product that keeps our readers informed, entertained, thoughtful and educated about events and issues in the community. We also work hard to support local businesses with advertising products that showcase the best businesses in the Basin. We appreciate your support as a reader and we hope that our efforts have made you proud of your local paper. Please feel free to contact me at any time at rmiller@columbiabasinherald.com and I'll be happy to discuss the paper with you. Much appreciation goes out to our readers for your support and to our team of journalists, designers and ad representatives for your dedication to this community. - R. Hans Miller, CBH Managing Editor