The Abbotsford News has been honoured with five industry awards in the 2011 editorial competition held by the Local Media Association (formerly the Suburban Newspapers of America).
Reporter Vikki Hopes won first place for Best Investigative Reporting, for her story on the “Single Parent Food Bank” an unauthorized charity collecting money in the Fraser Valley area.
Hopes also received a second place honour in the category Best Breaking News Story, for her coverage of the death of Jonathan Bacon, a high-profile Abbotsford gangster who was gunned down in Kelowna.
News editor Andrew Holota earned a second place award in the category of Best Column Writing, for his humorous series on couples’ relationships and what makes good men and women.
The News also received a second-place finish for Best Front Page, which was a selection of three separate pages.
Adrian McNair, who writes for the Abbotsford News and the Mission City Record, won a third-place finish in the category of Best In-Depth Reporting for his features on the future of the HST.
The LMA is a non-profit, professional trade association of community and suburban newspapers and is composed of more than 2,000 newspapers across the U.S. and Canada.