Virginia Business wins 11 state press awards

Virginia Business has won 11 awards in the Virginia Press Association’s 2021 News & Advertising Contest, the state organization announced this week. The annual contest recognizes excellence in design, writing, photography, illustrations and advertising in participating publications across Virginia for the previous calendar year. Judges for this year’s contest are from Pennsylvania’s press association.

The magazine won three first-place awards in the following categories:

• Digital Advertising — Art Director Joel Smith’s digital ad for the Virginia CFO Awards was praised by judges for “use of color, emphasis on event date and time.”
• Professional Services advertising — Smith and Account Manager Toni McCracken won for an ad for Glenn Industrial.
• Special Sections or Special Editions — Editor Richard Foster, Smith and freelance designer Sarah Barton won for the 2021 edition of the Virginia 500, which judges said was “simply well done. From the cover through the capsules, there was a sense of a grand project. It was deep yet easy to navigate.”

The magazine also won six second-place awards, including:

• Entertainment in advertising — Smith’s Virginia CFO Awards print ad, which judges called “clean, clear, concise and [a] great call to action.”
• General News Photo — Shandell Taylor’s photo of a protest by Valley Health workers accompanying a story on vaccination requirements
• Headline Writing — Editor Richard Foster and Deputy Editor Kate Andrews for “A taxing year,” “Calling the shots” and “Heads in the cloud“
• Illustrations — Sammy Newman for the September 2021 cover story, “The Great American Labor Shortage”
• Column or Commentary Writing — Publisher and President Bernie Niemeier’s OurView columns including “Making history (belatedly),” “Magical thinking” and “Political Kool-Aid.”
• Feature Writing Portfolio — freelance writer Mason Adams for “The Powell Memo,” “Enter the candidates” and “The color of money.” Mason’s work, the judges said, showcased “very good explanatory journalism on a variety of subjects.”

Virginia Business also took third-place awards in the following categories:

• Education, Churches and Organizations in advertising — Joel Smith and Account Manager Lindsey DiStanislao, for an ad for the Virginia Department of Veteran Services
• Special Sections or Special Editions — Andrews, Foster and Smith for the 2021 Hampton Roads Business guide, which judges said was “very engaging from the cover on back.”

Virginia Business competed in the specialty publication category, which also includes the Washington Business Journal, Virginia Lawyers Weekly, Richmond magazine and Style Weekly.