Virginia Business photographer wins Best in Show

Virginia Business won nine awards in the Virginia Press Association‘s 2025 News & Advertising Contest, including a Best in Show award for Specialty Photography to contributing photographer Norm Shafer, the state organization announced during its April 11 annual awards banquet held at The Virginian hotel in Lynchburg.

Shafer won the VPA Best in Show award and a first place award for picture story or essay for his photos documenting the June 30, 2025, grand opening of the first Buc-ee’s travel center in Virginia, an event that drew fans of the interstate mega convenience store chain and its ubiquitous beaver mascot from as far away as Alabama.

“Norm has an exceptional eye for storytelling through the lens, and this recognition speaks to both his technical skill and his ability to capture moments that resonate with readers,” said Virginia Business Associate Publisher and Editor Richard Foster. “His work on the Buc-ee’s opening brought added energy, scale and personality to our coverage.”

Additionally, Virginia Business Associate Editor Beth JoJack won a first place award for general news writing for her colorful coverage of the Buc-ee’s opening, which included interviewing eager fans who camped out overnight. “I had no idea there were groupies and such a riot of activity surrounding a [Buc-ee’s] grand opening,” the contest judges wrote. “Fun, informative story. Great job!”

The state press association’s annual contest recognizes excellence in design, writing, photography, illustrations and advertising among participating publications across Virginia for the previous calendar year. This year’s contest was judged by members of the South Carolina Press Association. As a monthly business magazine, Virginia Business competes in the VPA‘s specialty publications category, which includes publications published less frequently than weekly as well as targeted and niche publications.

Virginia Business also won four second-place awards in the following categories:

News Writing Portfolio — With the contest judges praising her “engaging writing about controversial issues,” Deputy Editor Kate Andrews won for a body of stories including “Virginia Supreme Court hears $2B trade secrets case,” “GOP House Judiciary report accuses GMU president of lying to Congress,” and “Virginia Supreme Court won’t intervene in Youngkin-Senate university boards dispute.”

General News Photo — Shafer also placed in general news photo for his coverage of the Buc-ee’s opening, with the judges saying, “Emotion and energy and good composition elevated this image to a winner.”

Headline Writing — Associate Publisher and Editor Richard Foster placed for entries such as “A reshore bet,” for JoJack’s feature story about efforts to bring manufacturing back to the United States, and “The point is Smoot,” for his own column about President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs.

Page Design — Art Director Joel Smith won for his work on the September 2026 cover story, “A new atomic age,” with retro illustrations by Miriam Foster accompanying the story about efforts to scale up nuclear power generation to meet growing electrical demand from data centers. “The animated portrayal was beyond appropriate for the content,” the judges noted.

Finally, the magazine won two third-place awards in these categories:

Column or Commentary Writing — The judges wrote that Foster‘s columns on topics such as the federal crackdown on undocumented immigrants, the DEI debate, and a statewide political brouhaha offered “incisive reflections on important public issues from a business perspective.”

Front Page or Front Cover — Smith, Andrews, Richard and Miriam Foster, Jay Paul and James Lee took a joint award for their work on Virginia Business’ May, September and October 2025 covers, with the judges singling out the “clever designs with stunning art [and] great font selections.”